Ford is trying to patent technology that would allow cars to repossess themselves.
As first spotted by The Drive, a Ford patent application titled “Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle” was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Feb. 23, although it was submitted to the agency Aug. 20, 2021.
The document describes using vehicles’ built-in data connections to remotely disable “a functionality of one or more components of the vehicle,” which would serve as warnings if the owner has missed car payments.
According to the document, deactivations would start with features like “cruise control, automated window controls, automated seat controls, and some components of the infotainment system (radio Global Positioning System (GPS), MP3 player, etc.),” escalating to functions like “the air conditioning system, a remote key fob, and an automated door lock/unlock system.” If that’s not irritating enough, an “incessant and unpleasant sound” could play “every time the owner is present in the vehicle.”
If the bank still hasn’t received payment after that, the vehicle could lock the owner out, although the document claims use of the vehicle would be re-enabled for emergency situations, describing use of onboard sensors to judge if the emergency is legitimate.
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