Next time your car breaks down, just look to the skies - Ford could unleash rescue drones to jumpstart dead batteries of vehicles stranded on the side of the road. The American automobile maker published a patent Tuesday for a system that uses aerial vehicles fitted with three-pronged hands that open the hood to apply jumper cables or a direct charge. The document describes the vehicle, whether passenger or commercial, detects a low battery and transmits a signal to a central computer that sends a fleet. Ford suggests using the vehicle's GPS location to guide one of the drones to the car, which will snap images of the scene and relay instructions to its fellow machines. Ford's a system that uses aerial vehicles fitted with three-pronged hands that open the hood to apply jumper cables or a direct charge Ford has been pumping out patents for different uses of drones, suggesting it could eventually develop its own propelled machines, with one in 2018 that would use the UAVs to help guide driverless vehicles.

Ford is not taking any chances with owners missing car payments - the company is working on a system that prompts the vehicle to repossess itself. A newly awarded patent describes a car self-driving back to the showroom or a scrapyard if the owner does not answer messages about their delinquent account. The American carmaker would start the process by disabling'comfort features,' playing noises inside the car and limiting where the vehicle can drive. If all else fails, Ford will activate the self-driving feature and the owner has no choice but to give up the car. While patent applications do not always turn into real-world services, Ford describes using a'repossession computer' that could be installed to let it take control of functions.

Ford wants to build cars that repossess themselves, although the technology can't be used on current models like the Ford Puma Ford has been granted a patent for a system that allows a car to repossess itself if the owner fails to keep up with payments. Ford envisions the car driving itself back to the showroom – or to a scrapyard if the value is low. But a security expert warns that the proposed system could instead be used to steal cars remotely. The patent, which was filed in 2021 but granted only this week, describes how the system would kick in if the car owner failed to respond to messages informing them they were falling behind with payments. At that point, a series of measures would be used to make the car first unpleasant to drive, and then impossible.

Ford wants to build cars that repossess themselves, although the technology can't be used on current models like the Ford Puma Ford has been granted a patent for a system that allows a car to repossess itself if the owner fails to keep up with payments. The firm envisions the car driving itself back to the showroom – or to a scrapyard if the value is low. But a security expert warns that the proposed system could instead be used to steal cars remotely. The patent, which was filed in 2021 but granted only this week, describes how the system would kick in if the car owner failed to respond to messages informing them they were falling behind with payments. At that point, a series of measures would first be used to make the car unpleasant to drive, then impossible.