Throughout automotive history, manufacturers have tried to make their cars do just about everything. From automatically adjusting gear ratios to applying brakes on detecting obstacles, cars have now become capable of fully-autonomous driving in certain situations. Ford has decided to take it a few steps further by patenting a new system concept that prevents drivers from accidentally smuggling drugs across the border.

Filed on March 17, 2023, and published this year in September, the patent lays out the concept of an “unknown cargo detection and evidence collection system." With this, Ford aims to help prevent drivers from becoming “blind mules" to drug traffickers while attempting to drive across borders. While it may sound thoroughly absurd, Ford reasons that these cases are commonplace, with several “several dozen high profile cases of blind mules that were victimised and eventually found innocent."

Drivers with fixed or predictable routines and schedules often fall prey to traffickers who plant drugs alongside a tracker device on the unsuspecting vehicle. If the innocent driver gets arrested, they are made to go through a prolonged investigation that can take away a lot of time, money, and peace of mind. To this end, Ford’s new concept aims to alert owners and collect evidence for law enforcement in case traffickers attempt to plant drugs on their vehicles.

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What does Ford's new detection system actually do? 

As outlined in the patent, cars with this system will be equipped with various sensors and cameras, alongside tiny microphones and weight sensors. With these, cars will be able to to check differences in weight, listen for suspicious activities nearby, and monitor the car’s interior and external surroundings to check for signs of tampering.

The patent states that the system will even be able to detect the presence of unfamiliar radio frequencies that may belong to perpetrators following the unsuspecting driver.

With this system, the car is able to passively and/or actively monitor the vehicle at different times. The patent states that the car can monitor different aspects of the car such as fuel level, weight, and wheel positioning “both at key-on and key-off state." If the system notices unusual changes in these parameters, it can send an alert to the driver.

The car can even become a full-blown detective and start collecting footage of its surroundings to store as evidence. Now if only it can start actually hunting criminals down like Taarzan the Wonder Car. .

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