Ford ad patent
In February 2023 Ford filed a patent[1] for in-vehicle advertisement presentation systems. A copy of the patent can be found here:[2]
These could combine historical user data with audio signals coming from the vehicle in order to serve personalized ads through the vehicle's human-machine interface (HMI). A key objective is to optimise the type of ads and their presentation in the context of the ongoing trip and eventual conversations, in order to maximise the number of ads each user is willing to be exposed to and avoid advertising overload. To quote a statement from the patent's overview:
Such systems and methods further provide the opposite force to a user's natural inclination to seek minimal or no ads.
Background[edit | edit source]
Modern Ford vehicles - like many others from competing car makers - have been relying increasingly on a touch screen display instead of knobs and buttons. As a consequence, drivers have been relying increasingly on voice commands to interact with the Human Machine Interface[3], as it is more convenient and can be safer for music and navigation tasks.[4]
The patent presented in this article outlines new ways in which Ford could monetize the data extracted by its vehicles thanks to the integration of microphones in the vehicle paired with efforts to improve voice recognition and permissive data privacy laws.
Applications[edit | edit source]
The vehicle location data would be used to infer the user's residence or workplace, and the navigation information such as destination, route and driving habits may be used to select ads specific to the commercial locations along the way. Current traffic data could also determine that the number of ads is increased when the car is sitting in traffic, especially for longer trips.
The patent lists some examples of how the in-vehicle advertisement presentation system could monitor conversations between individuals in order to decide when to serve ads, how many it should serve, and whether to deliver them as only audio/video or in audio-visual format, depending on the driving condition.
The system would also infer positive or negative feedback from the users through so-called "user actions", such as clicking a button or speaking a word to receive a promo code. In addition, it would combine this data with "the user's interaction with ads presented on their mobile device, or from any other source of preference data that pertains to the user".
The load of ads can also be split among the vehicle's occupants.
Consequences[edit | edit source]
This system would impact in particular taxi and Uber drivers, as well as people that ride in autonomous vehicles; in this latter case the patent explicitly classifies the person sitting in the driver's seat as a passenger, making it easier for them to be served more distracting ads.