Ford Patent Filed For Vehicle Interior Evaluation System

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a vehicle interior evaluation system, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on December 22^nd, 2020, published on September 20^th, 2022, and assigned serial number 11450118.

The Ford Authority Take

In addition to exploring tracking technology for tools and moving its interior design group to the head of the vehicle development process, Ford has also filed a few interior-related patents in recent months, including one for a wet seat detection and mitigation system and another for a luggage detection and tracking system. Now, this new Ford patent continues that trend by presenting an idea for a vehicle interior evaluation system.

The system depicted in this Ford patent aims to detect objects located within the interior of a vehicle using sensors, after which the system could automatically determine if that object needs to be removed from the vehicle. The vehicle would also be able to schedule the removal of that object at a special center, and could notify that facility of its arrival, along with information related to the object and confirming that it has indeed been removed.

As one might imagine, the main purpose behind this patent is to ensure that objects are removed from autonomous vehicles, particularly those that are used for ride-sharing purposes. Whether riders leave behind valuables or potential messes such as spilled drinks or food, this could present a potential problem for a vehicle that isn’t being operated by a human, as there’s no one present to notice those items or clean them up.

If and when Ford’s self-driving commercial vehicles service takes off, this could present a huge problem, particularly as those vehicles are expected to transport dozens – if not hundreds – of people per day. As such, this is one idea that could very well play a big role in those types of vehicles in the future.

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