Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/McDonald's
Nobody likes to wait in the queue when trying to order a Happy Meal from McDonald's, but the brilliant minds at Ford have come up with a rather unusual concept that could come in handy: a system whose role would be to let the vehicle move on its own, while the driver spends the time doing something else.
Called “driver assistance systems and methods for deployments in a drive-through lane,” the patent describes a concept that would allow the vehicle to accelerate, move forward, and brake autonomously.
It’s not hard to figure out how the whole thing would be possible, especially as vehicles today are fitted with an army of sensors and cameras. Once the car enters the drive-through lane mode, a notification would instruct the driver to avoid touching the steering wheel, the throttle, or the brake pedal.
Ford explains that vehicles equipped with this technology would be able to perform a stop-and-go movement at very low speed, with systems like collision avoidance and lane-centering also activated. The cameras installed on the vehicle can read the speed limit signs typically placed before entering the drive-through lane and therefore control the movement accordingly until the mode is disabled.
Furthermore, the vehicle can automatically stop at the payment kiosk or near the delivery window either after using an object detection system powered by the onboard cameras or with the help of GPS information. Ford says that in some implementations, its new technology can also read the painted lane markings that sometimes indicate the location of payment kiosks or highlight the exact spot where drivers need to wait to pick up their orders.
The smart approach doesn’t stop here. The American carmaker says that the movement of the car can even be controlled with voice commands once the drive-through mode is activated. Commands like “proceed to the payment window,” “move ahead,” or “stop here” would be supported.
The system can automatically kick in when the drive-thru lane is detected, and the shutting down would be triggered when the driver takes control of the vehicle. The whole thing would work similarly to an adaptive cruise control system, so whenever some sort of input is detected, the mode is deactivated. This straightforward approach makes the drive-through mode less intrusive, especially for someone who is in a hurry, such as a food delivery driver who can use the system for managing orders while waiting.
The benefits of such a system are more than obvious, but it could take years until we might be able to give it a try. As a parent, there’s no guarantee that this kind of technology would make its way to production cars, though given the push for autonomous vehicles, it’s probably just a matter of time until it happens.
It’s not hard to figure out how the whole thing would be possible, especially as vehicles today are fitted with an army of sensors and cameras. Once the car enters the drive-through lane mode, a notification would instruct the driver to avoid touching the steering wheel, the throttle, or the brake pedal.
Ford explains that vehicles equipped with this technology would be able to perform a stop-and-go movement at very low speed, with systems like collision avoidance and lane-centering also activated. The cameras installed on the vehicle can read the speed limit signs typically placed before entering the drive-through lane and therefore control the movement accordingly until the mode is disabled.
Furthermore, the vehicle can automatically stop at the payment kiosk or near the delivery window either after using an object detection system powered by the onboard cameras or with the help of GPS information. Ford says that in some implementations, its new technology can also read the painted lane markings that sometimes indicate the location of payment kiosks or highlight the exact spot where drivers need to wait to pick up their orders.
The smart approach doesn’t stop here. The American carmaker says that the movement of the car can even be controlled with voice commands once the drive-through mode is activated. Commands like “proceed to the payment window,” “move ahead,” or “stop here” would be supported.
The system can automatically kick in when the drive-thru lane is detected, and the shutting down would be triggered when the driver takes control of the vehicle. The whole thing would work similarly to an adaptive cruise control system, so whenever some sort of input is detected, the mode is deactivated. This straightforward approach makes the drive-through mode less intrusive, especially for someone who is in a hurry, such as a food delivery driver who can use the system for managing orders while waiting.
The benefits of such a system are more than obvious, but it could take years until we might be able to give it a try. As a parent, there’s no guarantee that this kind of technology would make its way to production cars, though given the push for autonomous vehicles, it’s probably just a matter of time until it happens.
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