"Drive While Standing Up" Is the Technology Ford Wants To Patent. What Could Go Wrong?

Yes, you read that right. Drive while standing. As crazy as it sounds, it is just Ford going out of their way to show customers anything is possible on board the cars with the Blue Oval.

The system is called Redundant Vehicle Controls Based on User Presence and Position. The diagrams that the carmaker submitted when filing for the patent show a man standing in a Ford Bronco, halfway outside the vehicle, enjoying the ride and having a better view of the surface ahead, but actually being at risk. If you think that nothing could go wrong, think twice: what would happen in case of a roll over? The driver is not wearing a seat belt or any safety restraint, for that matter.

The carmaker is planning on installing a next-gen secondary set of controls on top of the windshield in the convertible Bronco, but also LiDAR sensors, an ultra-sideband radar, phone-as-key, and cameras that ensure that the driver is still in the vehicle or, as Ford calls it in the patent application, "in the driving zone." Of course, they’re completely useless if the driver is thrown out of the Bronco.

The secondary controls would operate based on micro sensors that would be in charge of speed and torque, but also the steering wheel. Sounds like a video game, doesn’t it?

Integrated into the GOAT (Go Over Any Thing) off-road system, the technology also uses metrics like incline and pitch, and knows, at all times, how many of the four wheels are on the ground.

"There exist special use cases in off-road driving where terrain and/or manoeuvres require a driver to be in a position other than fully-seated," Ford explains in the patent application. Of course, visibility is key when going off the tarmac. In such situations, speed would be limited to 3 mph (4.8 kph). Yes, that is extremely low-speed off-roading. But still, anything can happen.

It was CarBuzz that identified the patent at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The controversial system might be labeled as unsafe driving. But we will just wait and see what Ford is up to this time.

Sometimes, carmakers patent various technologies just in case they turn out to be of interest. Until this tech will enter production, if ever, off-road enthusiasts can get a spotter to help them where there is not enough visibility. Not quite next-gen tech, but pretty safe for the moment.

Ford seems to be on a patent frenzy. Last week, they patented an automatic pet-detecting technology, that determines the position and behavior of the animal, opens the door, and lets it go outside or step inside, depending on what it seems to want.

Ford also filed a patent for an advanced remote parking system. The Remote Park Assist (RePA) is designed to autonomously park a car when the operator is outside the vehicle. It is something that carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW have been using for years. The Stuttgart-based company calls it Parktronic or Automated Valet Parking, while BMW refers to it as Parking Assistant. But maybe Ford has something new in store for customers.