Ford files patent for a system that lets users choose their Uber or Lyft cars based on SMELL before accepting a ride
- Ford filed a patent to let users choose an Uber or Lyft based on the car’s smell
- Users mark certain smells in their account that they consider unacceptable
- A computer checks the list and matches them with a car in the area
- Users can then rate the vehicle based on how it smelled during the trip
Passengers may soon be able to select an Uber or Lyft car based on its odor.
Ford has filed a new patent for technology that uses sensors to determine the smell inside a vehicle and compares it to a list of thresholds set by the rider.
The user then receives a message stating how good or bad the car smells, allowing them to accept or deny the ride.
The document notes that the system is meant for those who may have an allergic reaction to the vehicle’s environment.
Ford has filed a new patent for technology that uses sensors to determine the smell inside a vehicle and compares it to a list of thresholds set by the rider. The user then receives a message stating how good or bad the car smells, allowing them to accept or deny the ride
‘A system includes a computer remote from the vehicle,’ Ford writes in the patent.
‘The computer is programmed to store a label of an odor associated with a user, instruct the vehicle to pick up the user, receive data from an environmental sensor in the vehicle and output a message upon determining that the data indicate that a level of the odor exceeds a threshold.’
The patent suggests environmental sensors would be used to detect odors inside of the vehicle and may have an airflow connected to the backseat where the passenger would sit.
A user would enter their trip details in the application and a computer would look up the user’s information to see if they have marked specific smells as being unpleasant or hazardous to their health.
A user would enter their trip details in the application and a computer would look up the user’s information to see if they have marked specific smells as being unpleasant or hazardous to their health
The computer will then send the rider a message regarding how the car smells, which may include ‘horrible’, ‘bad’, ‘acceptable’, ‘good’ and ‘pleasant’, allowing the users to choose if they want that specific car or another one for their trip.
Just as users rate their driver on friendliness and driving skills following their trip, they will also be able to note how the vehicle smelled – allowing others to know what odor is inside of the vehicle.
It is very rare Ford files for a new patent, but when it does, the firm makes it all about the consumer.
Last year the car maker published an application that transforms a car into a movie theater.
The vehicle would come with a projector in the trunk, allowing owners to play movies on a big screen outside.