Home security is a big deal these days, and Ford has an idea to get your vehicle in on the action. The automaker recently published a patent detailing a vehicle-based security system, but it doesn't simply monitor the vehicle. Just the opposite in fact—the vehicle monitors you. And it uses a drone to see areas beyond the street or driveway.
The patent was filed back in 2022, called "Systems and methods for providing a vehicle-and-drone-based security service." Reading through the patent-speak, we learn that the vehicle in question can be anything from a sedan to a truck that carries "at least one drone." It's not just a platform for carrying and launching the drone, but rather, the command-and-control center for all monitoring activity.
Areas for monitoring are established and prioritized by the vehicle owner. From there, onboard systems take over using a wide range of tech. The patent mentions everything from radar to infrared cameras, ultrasonic detectors, and capacitive sensors mounted to the vehicle. In theory, it serves as the primary surveillance machine parked in a driveway or street, keeping an eye on the front of the house. To reach other areas, it can launch "at least one drone" to monitor a predetermined area where the vehicle can't see. Ford even describes routes for the drone to fly, like a sentry on patrol.
If you think this sounds like something from a Terminator movie, it gets better. The patent also mentions autonomous vehicles being "configured to move along vehicle-accessible pathways in order to ensure constant communication" with the drone. Neat, and a little terrifying.
As with many patents, there's no guarantee this will ever see the light of day. Furthermore, the language suggests this could be something aimed at security companies to assist human operators patrolling commercial properties. But nothing is saying your paranoid neighbor couldn't buy an autonomous truck with drones to keep an eye on the back 40.
As long as Ford doesn't call this system Skynet, we should be okay. Probably.
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