Ford is developing a new advertisement interface for their infotainment systems. The brand is filed patents for a new technology that can show vehicle passengers advertisements on the infotainment system. But these are not just the average random advertisements from the internet. The advertisements will pop up as the car drives by a billboard on the road.
Ford is developing a “billboard interface for vehicle displays”, capable of reading billboards on the highway and pop up an advertisement according to it. According to the patent application, a camera scanning for billboards on the road will read a portion of a barcode. The system will then create an advertisement with a hyperlink on the infotainment. The interested user can follow the hyperlink, and through internet connectivity, an entire ad will open on the screen of the vehicle.
The patent shows how the car will read an advert for a Hot Dog Stand, and the user can order the food. The infotainment system will also collect the address and phone number of the restaurant. This will enable the user to call the restaurant ahead of time to make a reservation or order food on the phone. The address link could also be linked with the car’s navigation system, which will directly map the route for the restaurant. This also enables the user to know the exact time of arrival at the restaurant.
Thanks to the internet, the connected system opens all types of possibilities, especially for restaurants. The establishments may benefit from such a system as the order ticket can contain information like the estimated time of arrival of the guest. This will save waiting times and make it easier for restaurants to handle the drive-through queues.
We are making some assumptions here, and this is just a singular example. And we do not want to indulge in any more hypothesis. Nevertheless, it is also important to note that such a technology might distract the driver. However, soon when autonomous driving technology will become more common, such a technology will become very useful during everyday commutes.