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Ford Motor Company has applied for a patent for self-repossession-capable autonomous vehicles. The patent was first submitted in August 2021, but it wasn’t officially published until February of this year.
The patent clarifies a system by which a bank or leasing company could remotely disable features, such as the air conditioner or the radio—or possibly the entire vehicle, in cases where the person leasing the car hasn’t kept up with payments.
The patent also explains how the lockout could be conditional, permitting owners to use the car throughout the workweek to avoid financial hardship. Additionally, the system might permit the car to travel inside a predetermined geofence.
The patent describes using other sensors, such as optical cameras, lidar, and ultrasonic sensors, to find out whether the vehicle has been parked in a garage to thwart a repossession attempt, by using a vehicle’s GPS sensor to locate the vehicle.
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Even autonomous vehicles are taken into account, which could essentially reclaim their own property by driving to an impound lot in response to a computerized repossession request.
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The lockout feature will be activated if payment is late, making it impossible to operate the vehicle. In the event of a medical emergency, the lockout will be able to be overridden, according to plans.
The patent claims that autonomous vehicles would be authorized remotely to travel to a lending institution, police station, or open road in order to facilitate towing if none of these precautions prove successful.
The patent filing was confirmed by a Ford spokesman to the Detroit Press newspaper in America. The approval of the patent is still pending.
