In today’s digital landscape, we’re always connected. Your phone knows where you are at all times. You might have a device in your house that constantly listens to you. And, if you drive a relatively modern car, it might even be collecting data on you. One unfortunate side effect of this trend is invasive advertisements that interrupt what you’re doing to try to sell you something. And one patent Ford recently issued could bring this trend into cars.
The idea is simple: the system reads the information on a billboard and displays it in your car. The language is, of course, far more complex, but that’s the plain English translation. This would not only be incredibly annoying, but also potentially dangerous.
However, there is a rather bright silver lining here. A patent does not mean a company will use a piece of technology — it means competitors cannot use it. So the fact that the patent exists does not mean it will ever actually make its way into a consumer vehicle. In fact, the opposite is plausible.
It’s readily apparent Ford is listening to market demand. The Bronco Sport, a compact crossover with some real off-road ability, is in a class of its own. The Mustang Mach-E is an affordable electric car that isn’t totally boring to drive and also has an actual driver-centric display. And the full-fledged Bronco is the first legitimate competitor to the Jeep Wrangler since the now-defunct Toyota FJ Cruiser.
And since Ford is clearly listening, they probably know that people hate ads. They know people don’t want their cars interrupting their driving experience to sell them something. So it’s entirely possible Ford created this patent not to monopolize this feature, but to prevent it from ever entering the automotive landscape. Sadly, it’s also entirely possible that a large enough cut of the ad revenue will win out here. What happens remains to be seen. But, if they shield us from this dystopian technology, Ford deserves a pat on the back.
Leave a Reply