Ford has been issued a patent for an “Autonomous Vehicle Entertainment System,” which features screens and projectors that disappear into the ceiling as passengers take over the wheel.
Screens set into the dashboard, instrument cluster, or rearview mirror can be used to display media while the driver is manually controlling the car. When an autonomous mode is engaged, a second system controller activates a second display, which passes a screen over the windshield and lowers a projector from the ceiling.
This could mean that the company is angling for the day when autonomous cars won’t need human drivers most of the time. These would still be passenger cars, with a driver required for operation, but contribution from that driver would be minimal – and allow time to turn the car into a mobile theater or an office with shifting screens.
Ford representative Alan Hall told Forbes that patents are filed to protect ideas in the normal course of business and “aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans.”
Ford is working on self-driving vehicles at present, but so far the technology exists only for the cars to be fully autonomous in areas with good visibility and clearly defined lanes, such as highways.
The adoption of smart technology in “connected” cities could also provide more of a framework in which autonomous cars could navigate between digital waypoints.
