Fore has recently pushed through a patent application that involves a self-driving vehicle that would have the power to repossess itself if the one ever ended up missing car payments.
This application, which was first filed roughly two weeks ago but ended up being published officially last week by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, makes use of a series of computer interactions that would start a “multi-step repossession procedure” in the case of the owner falling delinquent. Banks could the leaseholders or drivers a series of warnings regarding missed payments prior to the vehicle eventually locking down or made to go along with repossession processes initiated by the financial institutions.
“When an acknowledgment is not received within a reasonable period of time, the first computer may disable a functionality of a component of the vehicle or may place the vehicle in a lockout condition,” stated the patent application, seemingly referencing the computer which will be controlled by the lending agency. “The lockout condition may be lifted momentarily in case of an emergency to allow the vehicle to travel to a medical facility.”
This new technology could possibly be utilized across a number of vehicle classes, including both internal combustion and electric vehicles. In the event that the leaseholder misses payments, the technology could also start to turn off various features of the car such as the air conditioning system, remote key fobs, and automated locks as a means to “cause an additional level of discomfort to a driver and occupants of the vehicle” and subsequently encourage making bill payments. This technology could, on the other hand, make use of chimes, beepers, or radios to “emit an incessant and unpleasant sound every time the owner is present in the vehicle.”
With additional ignored car payment notices, the driver could also be forced to abide by a “geofence” system outside of which the various systems of the car which are necessary to operate it would be turned off. The system could also just lock down the vehicle outside of standard work hours as a means to avoid “adversely affecting the livelihood of the owner of the vehicle,” and thusly “hampering the owner’s ability to make payments.”
Continued inaction from the driver could wind up with the vehicle making calls to a tow truck company; semi-autonomous vehicles could move themselves to a location labeled “more convenient” for the person driving the tow trucks, while the fully autonomous cars could be moved “from the premises of the owner” to the tow truck yard or back to the lending company without the need for a tow truck.
