Toronto, Ontario — Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a system designed to provide assistance when a vehicle is disabled, and to help automate responses to a collision.
The new patent, originally filed with the United States Patent and Trademark office (USPTO), describes a system designed to provide assistance when a vehicle is stopped unexpectedly and then determine the cause of the issue.
Using an onboard computer, the vehicle would determine whether the issue for the unexpected stop was due to an accident or because of mechanical problems.
This information would then be relayed to both the driver and a service provider, and the patent describes how the vehicle would also be able to call for help if needed.
Additionally, a service provider would be able to study the information provided by the vehicle and also call for emergency services if requested.
The patent also describes the possibility of the vehicle being able to provide pictures of itself to emergency personnel so that they could more easily locate its position and more quickly determine the issue.
While there is no guarantee that this concept will ever make it to a manufacturing stage, the patent does describe one way in which the collision response process could be automated in the future.
Check out Ford Authority for patent images and further details.
