During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 in Las Vegas this past January, Ford announced that it's tripling the size of its autonomous vehicle testing.
Now, we know one of the ways the automaker's self-driving technology will be put to use — as mobile movie theaters. Really?
Forbes has learned that Ford has filed a patent for an "Autonomous Vehicle Entertainment System."
"The entertainment system controller presents media content on a first display while the vehicle is operating in the autonomous mode and on a second display when the vehicle is operating in a non-autonomous mode," a portion of Ford's patent filing read, as reported by Forbes.
A design rendering attached to the patent has Ford envisioning its autonomous vehicles using screens and projectors that disappear into the ceiling as soon as drivers take over the wheel. So, essentially, think of this as a self-contained drive-in movie theater, while the car is in full-autonomous mode.
Within that, Forbes says the automaker's patent shows a projection screen covering the windshield.
Once the driver takes over and the screen and projector retracts, a display incorporated within "a dashboard, an instrument cluster, or a rearview mirror" replaces it, according to the patent.
Adding intrigue to the concept that an autonomous car could be transformed into a mobile movie theater is the patent seems to suggest that drivers could take control of the wheel mid-trip. The patent sketch even presents the front seats removed in autonomous mode, turning the car into a theater and enabling drivers to preset whether the duration of the trip would be autonomous or if they'd take command of the wheel midway.
During CES 2016, Ford's chief technology officer Raj Nair announced that the company is aiming for its self-driving cars to be fully autonomous, "but only in defined conditions, such as highway driving or in smart cities," for now.
Ford CEO Mark Fields added, "Our priority is in making the first Ford autonomous vehicle accessible to the masses and truly enhancing customers' lives."
That being said, it's likely that Ford and the auto industry as a whole won't be ready with fully-autonomous vehicles by the targeted 2020 date that's being floated around, as we're likely to get a boost in driver-assistance technologies by then, with fully-autonomous vehicles arriving soon thereafter.
