Future Ford AVs Could Treat Passengers To Tours

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a system that could provide occupants with tours of different sites that may be used in future Ford autonomous vehicles (AVs), Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on September 6^th, 2023, published on March 6^th, 2025, and assigned serial number 0078686.

The Ford Authority Take

Ford has explored various ways to provide a vehicle’s occupants with useful information about their surroundings over the years, including a recent patent filing for a head-up display with points of interest (POI), as well as access to the Mappo app and its themed routes with crowd-sourced, user-generated content. Now, this newly published Ford patent presents us with another interesting idea – this time, for a system that could provide occupants with tours of different sites that may be used in future Ford autonomous vehicles (AVs), specifically.

As Ford points out in this patent filing, those visiting other places typically like to see the sights in those areas, and in many cases, sign up for tours so that they can soak in all that their vacation destination has to offer. If autonomous vehicles wind up becoming quite common in the future, it stands to reason that there may be a market for tours provided by these types of vehicles, and that’s precisely where this patent comes into play.

Replacing the traditional human tour guide, this system would automatically take occupants along predetermined routes that display various points of interest, whether they be museums, landmarks, or other things that folks generally want to see. The system could also narrate that experience, change routes based on need or desire, and even manipulate the climate control and make the seats vibrate, if so desired – a rather interesting proposal, we’d say.

“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.”