If you default on lease payments, Autopilot will return the car to the dealership. The technology has already been patented by Ford – VTM.cz

It was acquired by the American Ford Motor Company Patented on unprecedented technology for self-driving vehicles targeting people who are having difficulty paying their premiums. If the driver Unable to ship on time required vehicle payments, The car gradually begins to punish him Finally he returned to the store himself, or even called the police.

The technology described in the patent is for cases where people have a car that is loaned or rented and they have to send a certain amount each month to own/use the car. Although most people meet their financial obligations, from time to time there are culprits who stop sending installments or send them late.

Currently, companies that have a contract with drivers intervene at such moments. First they send reminders, then they calculate the penalties and if the person still hasn’t responded, they finally come to take the car physically.

Ford wants to automate this process, literally. With technology intended for self-driving cars in the future, these companies will send a signal to the car that the terms of the contract have been violated, and the car itself will start complaining about the lack of payments.

He would go at it gently at first and on screen Twice showed a reminder that the driver did not send the payment. This warning will not affect the operation of the vehicle in any way. But if the driver does not respond and does not send the money, the car will gradually make his life hell. Ford calls it a “multi-step recovery procedure” in the patent.

Schematic diagram of the system Ford uses to alert defaulters to self-driving vehicles

After displaying a warning, the car will begin to disable individual functions that are not very important for their operation, but at the same time do not want to do without them. For example, it will stop showing GPS navigationwill disable the music system or make it impossible to use adaptation.

If these inconveniences do not force the driver to send money, the car will start after starting An audible tone sounds, something like an alarm clock. Ford warns that this tone will be very unpleasant.

In the end, the car will be its own He didn’t let the driver in at all. The only exceptions are crisis situations, for example in the case of a medical disorder, when the driver actually has to use the car, but the patent does not describe in detail how a person can prove to his (which has been offended) car that the crisis has occurred.

The last level of fine for non-payment will be the car will He just came back To the service, shop, showroom, or simply to the junkyard. The address will be determined by the company to which the driver will owe. If the driver wants to prevent this departure by locking the car in the garage, the car itself will call the police.

It’s only a patent so far, so it’s not certain if Ford will actually include the technology in its products. A similar system is suitable only for self-driving cars, and we are still far from its widespread distribution. Ford filed for the patent a year and a half ago, and the US Patent Office granted it in February.