Because roadside signage during a drive isn't enough, Ford has patented a new system that uses a vehicle's cameras to detect advertisements (on the road) and then display them on the car's screen.
Roadside signs are an effective way to get a hungry driver wanting to stop at the next fast food, or to convince him to get off the road and visit a nearby mall for a Nike discount. .
What is too much about billboards is to provide additional information such as a phone number, an address or a website, as they are often not visible to a driver or a passenger. Who can memorize such details while driving?
This is the problem that Ford is trying to solve with this new patented system.
Many vehicles now come standard with built-in cameras used for autonomous driving, safety or to provide the driver with an out-of-vehicle view to facilitate parking.
What Ford wants to do is use these cameras to collect information from billboards and then use image recognition to display a copy of the ad on a vehicle's screens. This will make it visible to the driver and passengers for a longer period of time.
The system will also intelligently analyze the contents of the sign and create links, either for the easy dialing of a phone number, or for the display of a company website.
Ford could also work with advertising agencies or companies responsible for billboards.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
