Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an adaptive loudspeaker system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on November 4th, 2022, published on May 9th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0155300.
The Ford Authority Take
Ford has filed a pair of patents outlining ideas for potential uses of external speakers as of late, including one that could be mounted in a vehicle’s hitch, and another within a spare tire. However, these speakers would be used more as a way to warn pedestrians of a vehicle’s presence than as a way to host a portable party, something that’s become common as of late with hybrids and EVs driving around at slow speeds in silence. Now, this newly filed patent introduces a new yet similar idea, this time, for an adaptive loudspeaker system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
This particular patent is more focused on the idea that in certain cases – such as when workers are spread out at a loud construction site – it can be difficult to communicate with them. Typically, contracts have used loudspeakers to accomplish this task, but the problem is, those systems tend to not be very effective and can even create excessive amounts of ambient noise as well. Similarly, cell phones and walkie talkies have their own downsides that make them less effective at communicating with a large group at once as well.
Thus, this patent aims to provide a better solution via an adaptive loudspeaker system, one that could receive a message, determine the direction of the person it’s intended to be sent to, move itself accordingly, and then set the volume to a level where they can actually hear it. It’s an interesting idea, and one that may very well prove useful at some point in the future – if nowhere else than construction sites, anyway.
We’ll have more on this and all Ford patents soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford patent news, Ford business news, and comprehensive Ford news coverage.
Comment
I would rather Ford spend their efforts on creating a “premium” audio system for inside the truck that actually sounds good, as their 2021+ B&O offering is total crap.