Ford is developing technology that would allow personalized ads to be delivered to vehicles through the display or audio system. These would be based on data obtained from conversations taking place inside the vehicle, as well as your destination, your trip history, your speed, the driving mode you are using, your fuel level or battery charge. The system is described in great detail in a patent application filed by the company with the U.S. Patent Office.
The system “may include determining the user’s preferences for advertisements based on one or more in-vehicle audio signals and/or historical user data,” the documentation explains. “For example, this may include listening to conversations between occupants of the vehicle. The conversations may be analyzed for keywords or phrases that may indicate where the occupants are traveling,” it explains.
Predicting the vehicle’s destination on each trip is one of the system’s main goals. “A destination type, such as work or a shopping mall, plays a role in the number of ads,” Ford says. This information can be used to “deliver more relevant ads, such as if a user is shopping, buying merchandise, etc.” Additionally, these systems and methods help counteract a user’s natural tendency to seek out little or no advertising, he says.
Although the patent does not specify it, the documentation presented by the American brand indicates that it would be an artificial intelligence model that would analyze in real time what the user’s journey will be. This would contrast with its history, which could also use “information obtained from third-party applications”, such as those installed on the occupants’ mobile phones, Ford says, and with data collected from the vehicle itself to make segmented ads. , taking into account aspects such as whether it is “a long trip or a trip to a health facility.”
“These systems and methods can intelligently schedule variable ad durations, with a playback time that seeks to maximize business revenue while minimizing the impact on the user experience. “It is primarily a software implementation that uses existing vehicle information, without requiring additional hardware,” the brand explains.
self-driving cars
Ford emphasizes that the advertisements displayed on the screen or audio system must not interfere with driving safety. That is why it describes that this technology must also be able to recognize the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling and its speed to determine the type of advertising it broadcasts.
However, Ford mentions that in the event the vehicle has self-driving options, “a person seated in the driver’s seat is a passenger during autonomous operation of the vehicle.” Therefore, you are also considered an “occupant” or “user” for the purposes of displaying advertising to you.
From there, “advertising can be presented to users in their vehicle through different means. For example, some can be presented visually or audibly through an in-car infotainment system or other interfaces,” he says. The brand’s engineers say the software would also analyze which ads are most effective in each case so that each user can replicate the same strategy in the future.
“For example, if the vehicle is traveling on a highway, a primary workload might include presenting a visual advertisement to passengers every ten minutes via the display. User preferences might indicate that the passenger responds positively to audio announcements, so a secondary workload might be more frequent, such as presenting audio announcements every five minutes,” he suggests.
Digital applied to the automobile industry
The patent was filed by Ford Global Technologies, the company’s intellectual property management subsidiary. It is also responsible for offering Ford’s technology to other manufacturers and charging royalties for its use. Asked by elDiario.es about its commercial plans for this technology, Ford indicated that the patent application does not determine that it will implement this system in the future.
“Filing patent applications is a normal step in any solid business, as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a strong intellectual property portfolio,” an official spokesperson responded. “The ideas described in a patent application should not be taken as an indication of our business or product plans. Regardless of what is described in the patent application, we will always put the customer first when making decisions about the development and commercialization of new products and services,” he assured.
This would not be the first time, however, that a car manufacturer has implemented its own digital business models. Mercedes-Benz, for example, electronically limits the capabilities of some of its models and charges a subscription if the user wants to activate them. This happens with engine power and other characteristics, such as the maximum turning radius of the wheels.
