Future Ford Vehicles May Get Boat Docking Assistance System

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a boat docking assistance system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on January 10^th, 2022, published on February 25^th, 2025, and assigned serial number 12235646.

The Ford Authority Take

A couple of years ago, Ford filed a pair of patents aimed at making the act of launching a boat a bit easier – one, an idea for a boat launching detection system, and another, for a boat launching management system. Now, this newly published patent revives that concept with a new idea, this time, for a boat docking assistance system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.

As Ford points out in this patent filing, the art of docking a boat is one that takes some skill and practice to learn, as many of us have witnessed in action as folks struggle to do precisely that. Thus, it proposes making this popular summertime activity a bit easier with some technology, which in this case would utilize sensors designed to detect the position of a boat or water-going vessel. Those sensors would send information to controllers designed to assist with the actual docking process, using data including wind speed, as well as clearances between the boat and the dock itself – which could prove handy to less experienced folks, if this concept does come to fruition.

“Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” Ford said in a statement. “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans. No matter what the patent application outlines, we will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services.”