by AUVSI News 

The future of Ford Motor Co.’s autonomous vehicles is headed in the direction of mobile movie theaters, equipped with screens and projectors that vanish into the ceiling as passengers take over the wheel, according to a patent released last week by the company.

“The entertainment system controller presents media content on a first display with the vehicle operating in the autonomous mode and on a second display when the vehicle is operating in a non-autonomous mode.” according to Ford’s patent, originally published in Forbes magazine. 

The patent details the first display as a projection screen in the front of the car, covering the windshield. When the driver takes over, the screen and projector retract into the ceiling, and the presentation shifts to display integrated within “a dashboard, an instrument cluster or a rear view mirror.”

The patent suggests places that a driver may take control mid-trip. For example, the vehicle may be fitted with audible or visual alarms, it says, presumably to alert a potential driver that it’s time to pay attention and drive. But drawings supplied with the patent depict removable front seats — removed in autonomous mode to turn the car into a theater — which suggests passengers would have to decide in advance whether a trip would be driverless or driven.

Ford CEO Mark Fields added that the company is not in a hurry to be the first manufacturer of autonomous vehicles. 

“Our priority is in making the first Ford autonomous vehicle accessible to the masses and truly enhancing customers’ lives.” 

Fields suggests Ford expects autonomous vehicles to continue to be individually owned.

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