Photo: Screenshot from Ford patent application
Up until recently, puddle lights have had the mere role of lighting up the area around the car to show potential hazards - like puddles, for example, or stuff that poodles with careless owners leave behind - for the approaching driver at nighttime.
Soon enough, though, some people started to see some untapped potential there and turned them into small projectors that would display complex graphics on the ground. The obvious choice was the carmaker’s logo, but custom images could be used as well.
Before we get into what Ford is doing right now, we should mention another piece of older technology that’s been with us for quite some time: radio clocks with projectors. The idea was simple: you have your classic alarm radio clock that sits on the nightstand, but because you’ll want to know what time it is in the middle of the night and you’re too lazy to turn on your side, it comes with a small device that projects the hour on the ceiling.
Ford is now mixing the two and adding some EV touches to the idea as well by making the puddle lights project the charging status of the battery on the ground. The idea? It’s pretty similar to that of the radio clock: it spares the owner the hassle of entering the car to check its battery level.
That’s all fine and dandy, but other carmakers have thought about more efficient ways of doing the same thing. Take BMW’s case, for example, who employs a smart key fob displaying the car’s battery pack status and also its maximum range. In real time.
Others have gone as far as to develop a smartphone app that does the same thing. The best part is that it works both ways, so the app actually turns into some sort of remote control that can switch on the car’s heating or cooling systems so that its driver will be welcomed by an ideal climate.
Or you can take a look at Nissan’s recent Teatro for Dayz concept, which uses some sort of LED strips on the outside to display this very important piece of information regarding charging level.
So, yeah, Ford is applying for a patent concerning puddle lights that can display the battery status for its electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. What’s next? A steering wheel with BUTTONS on it?
Before we get into what Ford is doing right now, we should mention another piece of older technology that’s been with us for quite some time: radio clocks with projectors. The idea was simple: you have your classic alarm radio clock that sits on the nightstand, but because you’ll want to know what time it is in the middle of the night and you’re too lazy to turn on your side, it comes with a small device that projects the hour on the ceiling.
Ford is now mixing the two and adding some EV touches to the idea as well by making the puddle lights project the charging status of the battery on the ground. The idea? It’s pretty similar to that of the radio clock: it spares the owner the hassle of entering the car to check its battery level.
That’s all fine and dandy, but other carmakers have thought about more efficient ways of doing the same thing. Take BMW’s case, for example, who employs a smart key fob displaying the car’s battery pack status and also its maximum range. In real time.
Others have gone as far as to develop a smartphone app that does the same thing. The best part is that it works both ways, so the app actually turns into some sort of remote control that can switch on the car’s heating or cooling systems so that its driver will be welcomed by an ideal climate.
Or you can take a look at Nissan’s recent Teatro for Dayz concept, which uses some sort of LED strips on the outside to display this very important piece of information regarding charging level.
So, yeah, Ford is applying for a patent concerning puddle lights that can display the battery status for its electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. What’s next? A steering wheel with BUTTONS on it?
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