Ford’s New Patent Shows Future Vehicles Could Communicate With Pedestrians – SlashGear

Ford’s patent describes the safety pedestrian apparatus as a “vehicle lamp system” that adjusts its color in reaction to a pedestrian’s gaze. Powerful onboard computers on the vehicle analyze the pedestrian’s gaze to predict the direction they could move. For example, if the computer detects a pedestrian on a crosswalk, the gaze detection system determines whether the pedestrian is far enough from the car for them to cross. The car could then turn the color of its headlight to green to indicate to the pedestrian that it is safe for them to cross.

Another possible outcome would be that the system detects that the pedestrian cannot complete the crossing in time. In such a scenario, the car would flash its headlights in other colors (red or amber, depending on local regulations) and warn the pedestrian to abort the crossing. 

Besides serving as an alert/warning system for a single target pedestrian, this lamp system could also be used to warn other people on the street about the intentions of the autonomous vehicle. The patent also describes how the warning system could also be used to communicate with other vehicles on the road, including cyclists. The eventual goal of the system would be to create an easy-to-understand, effective communication system for autonomous cars to communicate with the traffic on the road and thereby reduce fatalities.

Given that this vehicle communication system is still in its patent stage, do not expect any Ford cars or autonomous vehicles to use it soon.