The Future of Drone Equipped Cars

For many of us, when we picture the future we may see people on hoverboards and getting to work in flying cars. While we aren’t quite there yet, drones are taking us closer to the future than we thought and Ford plans on being one of the front runners. On October 10th, Ford filed an illustration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office showing a quadcopter-style device being deployed from a vehicle. That’s right, cars equipped with drones.

Ford states that while the drone serves several purposes, the primary function is safety. The quadcopter can be programmed to follow the vehicle while it is in motion or even signal the location of the vehicle to emergency personnel in the case of an accident or if the occupants are stranded. This allows first responders to locate the vehicle even if the occupants cannot call 911 themselves. Furthermore, the drone would be deployed from the vehicle in order to shine a light on the car, play sirens and flash lights in order to bring attention and assist emergency vehicles to the scene. If all that isn’t enough, the drones have the ability to stream live footage of an accident and provide exact coordinates to the nearest response unit. 

Aside from safety functions, Ford says that future drones also possess a follow mode that will allow the drone to follow the vehicle as it drives, a video function where the drone can shoot a video of the car, and a security mode that deploys the drone to patrol the vehicle if the occupants are in danger. Ford also states that there may be a possibility for a manual function in which the occupants can control the drone themselves from the vehicle while displaying the drone information on the center console. With this function, occupants will have much more personalization and customization.

Ford isn’t the first or only automaker to take advantage of the future of drones, however. In 2007, Land Rover and the Austrian Red Cross partnered together for a drone program known as Project Hero. Land Rover’s latest Land Rover Discovery is equipped with a drone-storing turtle top that was designed to help emergency response teams by surveilling locations that have undergone a disaster and helping locate survivors that may need medical attention from rescue teams.

Audi has taken an even further approach with their Audi Al:Trail. Audi explains that this completely electric off-road vehicle, “comes equipped with a total of five rotorless, triangular, electrically operated drones with integrated matrix LED elements. They are capable of landing on a roof rack or directly on the roof of the vehicle, and docking onto the inductive charging elements.” Audi claims that these drone-style headlights consume comparably little energy and fly ahead of the Al:Trail illuminating the road ahead. Thus, they replace the need for any sort of headlights on the vehicle. The drones also have the function to stream a live video to the occupants inside of the vehicle of what lies ahead on the road.

While the use of drones on Audi’s Al:Trail may be excessive when compared to the safety functions of some other automakers’ drones, they all show the power of drone technology in our future. Drones have just made their debut in the auto industry. Imagine the possibilities and potential that lie ahead for drones and their programming. This potential can only be made possible by skilled, creative, and experienced programmers, developers, pilots, etc. Whether we realize it or not, this future lies in the hands of our youth. It is now the duty or parents and teachers to provide our children with all the necessary tools, equipment, and knowledge that they will need to succeed in this drone filled future. All of us at STEAM Drones have made it our mission to enable schools around the world to engage in UAS Technology. Therefore, we have partnered with DroneBlocks to provide schools with everything they need (equipment, curriculum, training, etc.) to bring our youth up to speed. If you’re ready for potential of how drones can improve our future, you can learn more about this initiative and the curriculum here or simply Contact Us.