Ford Contemplates Spydrones in Autonomous Vehicles

The  ubiquity of digital tech is causing privacy concerns, as many commonly used pieces of equipment can be exploited to watch everyday citizens.

Despite the controversy regarding digital tech and privacy, some companies are incorporating questionable spytech in the name of safety. According to a article from the New York Post, American auto giant Ford is considering the use of spy drones to monitor and inspect autonomous vehicles. Last year, Ford successfully filed a tech patent to hide small drones in the truck/glove box of driverless cars, in order to automatically assess car damage or analyze an accident. It’s likely Ford wants to use this tech for the Argo AI’s soon-to-launch ride hailing service (owned by Ford), but representatives with the company have not commented on this matter.

There are legitimate privacy concerns regarding this technology, but for autonomous ride services this seems to be a useful concept. Without drivers, automatic ride hailing service providers need an accurate way to manage vehicles without depending on human service agents. The patent could also improve accident response times in the event of a crash, enabling drones to assess the severity of the situation, and automatically send pictures for reference.

Ford’s spyware drone patent could have a huge impact on the future of ride services, especially if companies like Uber and Lyft take advantage of similar approaches. However, drastic security measures will need to be incorporated to guarantee customers aren’t being watched for the wrong reasons.

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