The number of U.S. patents awarded to Ford employees represents a 25 percent increase versus 2015; total Ford patents globally reach 3,200 this year
09 Dec 2016 | 3233 Views | By Autocar Pro News Desk
Ford employees are driving innovation in every part of the business globally at record pace; more than 8,000 new inventions have been submitted by employees in 2016 – a 40 percent increase over last year and a more than 90 percent jump versus 2014.
Through early December, more than ...
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Ford employees are driving innovation in every part of the business globally at record pace; more than 8,000 new inventions have been submitted by employees in 2016 – a 40 percent increase over last year and a more than 90 percent jump versus 2014.
Through early December, more than 5,500 Ford employees have submitted invention disclosures, with more than 2,200 of them first-time inventors; since the beginning of 2015, more than 4,000 first-time inventors have submitted ideas
Ford staffers are driving innovation throughout the business at record pace, netting approximately 1,500 US patents so far this year – the most of any automaker and a 25 percent increase versus 2015.
Employees at the Dearborn-headquartered automaker have submitted the most patent applications in the company’s 113-year history this year – in both the United States and globally. Worldwide, Ford employees submitted 8,000 new inventions in 2016 – a 40 percent increase over 2015, and a 90 percent jump over 2014.
“We are living the innovation mindset in all parts of our business across the globe,” said Raj Nair, executive vice-president, product development, and chief technical officer. “Our employees are delivering exciting new technologies for our customers at record levels. As an auto and mobility company, this is an exciting time, and our employees are aggressively advancing emerging technologies and increasing our mobility patents at record levels.”
Ford has been granted 1,700 additional patents in other countries – bringing the total to more than 3,200 patents worldwide this year.
Among these is an invention for equipping autonomous vehicles with drones. The system deploys a drone from an autonomous vehicle to map the surrounding area beyond what vehicle sensors can detect. Vehicle passengers control the drone using the car’s infotainment or navigation system.
“At Ford we are fully engaged in the current climate where inventions and out-side-the-box thinking are being produced rapidly,” said Tony Lockwood, Ford manager, virtual driver system, autonomous vehicle development, who was granted a patent for the idea along with fellow Ford employee Joe Stanek. “Ultimately, customers benefit as we open ourselves to new ideas and advance mobility using emerging technologies.”
Ford eChair
The eChair is another innovation that could make life easier for wheelchair users. Developed by Gunther Cuypers, Robin Celis, and David Longin – engineers at Ford’s Lommel proving grounds in Belgium – eChair is a lightweight electric wheelchair that self-loads into a car.
Earlier this year, the company introduced Carr-E, a multipurpose, electric personal transportation device developed by Germany-based Ford systems engineer Killian Vas. In addition to carrying riders, Carr-E can transport packages and heavy objects.
On-the-Go H2O, developed by Ford engineers Doug Martin and John Rollinger works to collect vehicle condensation. The system then filters the fluid and pumps it into a faucet located inside the car to provide drinking water.
Through early December, more than 5,500 Ford employees have submitted invention disclosures with more than 2,200 of them first-time inventors. Since the beginning of 2015, more than 4,000 first-time inventors have submitted applications.
As a springboard to even greater innovation, Ford worked with TechShop to open TechShop Detroit – a 33,000-square-foot workshop in Allen Park, Michigan. Backyard tinkerers and engineers alike can develop ideas and build prototypes using the facility’s tools, equipment and computers loaded with design software.
Ford recently launched maker space in Nanjing, China. The workshop gives employees a space to collaborate and brainstorm ideas, develop prototypes using 3D printers, 3D scanners, plastic-forming machines, electronics, app development software and more.
On-the-go H2O
Martin’s idea to turn cars into a source of water boils down to the reality that fresh water is a scarce resource. “All that water going to waste should be recovered to serve a purpose,” said Martin. “The real vision is that this idea could eventually help people who don’t have easy access to water, in remote locations such as the Australian Outback, for example. I’m trying to make my twin daughters proud, and make the world a better place for them.”
To test his idea, Martin discovered that a car can produce more than 64 ounces of water per hour, the equivalent of nearly four water bottles. Naturally, this means fewer roadside stops to pick up bottled water on a road trip, a nice convenience, along with fewer plastic bottles filling trash heaps. But the benefits extend much further, potentially curbing the global water crisis, which, according to the World Health Organization, affects one in 10 people and leaves hundreds of millions without clean drinking water.
Innovation comes easily to Martin, a Ford powertrain controls engineer who holds roughly 70 auto-related patents. After graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, he came to work for Ford. He’s been with the company for a combined 22 years.
This Ford innovator envisions a day in which people might say, “I can’t believe we used to waste all that water.”
Phone as car
How can we empower the passenger in a ride-sharing service, who typically has little control over the journey? For Ford’s Oleg Gusikhin, Omar Makke and Jeff Yeung, the challenge could be easily addressed from their experience working with Ford SYNC. “By rethinking mobile connectivity from the passenger’s perspective, we saw how we can use smartphones to give riders control through SYNC without the need to be directly paired via Bluetooth,” said Gusikhin.
Ultimately, this thinking spawned a new software invention – SYNC Remote Control. With the support of Ford’s Perry MacNeille and Jack Van Hoecke, the idea evolved in a matter of months into a remote function that allows passengers to control SYNC features like radio and climate settings.
When a passenger gets into a ride-sharing car, he or she taps a mobile device that automatically opens an app interface that gives him or her control of the radio and climate. Eventually, any controllable feature, like the passenger seat and more, could be added. It works, because it uses open-source software to connect the rider’s phone to SYNC through the driver’s phone – without additional pairing. The software includes a translation feature, for when driver and rider don’t speak the same language. The rider simply types what he or she wants to say into the phone, and SYNC conveys it in the language of the driver.
These features, which help make the ride more enjoyable, hold immense potential for a future of ride-sharing services – especially for fully autonomous vehicles where there is no driver.
You don’t have to talk long to Gusikhin, Makke, Yeung and the support team to tell they’re as excited as anyone about a future in which the smartphone becomes the main way to not only order, but also manage, your ride. Effectively, your smartphone becomes your car, helping personalise and control your journey in a way that’s familiar to you.
Carr-E
Kilian Vas, a Ford systems engineer in Cologne, Germany, knows that last part of any urban commute can be tricky. You’ve just stepped off the train, or drove into and parked in the city, and you still need to walk or bike to your destination.
So when Ford issues an innovation challenge for a device to help people handle city life and get around town, the forward-thinking Vas couldn’t help but answer. For many, his innovation – a four-wheeled electric pedestrian assistant called Carr-E – is a welcome alternative to getting around the city.
Carr-E’s multipurpose functionality separates it from other electric personal transportation devices. In addition to carrying riders, Carr-E can be used to transport heavy objects. Users simply place the object on the device and it will follow an electronic transmitter they keep in their possession.
Vas was inspired to create the device’s compact, circular design when he noticed the empty space inside the spare wheel well of his car. Commuters can easily store it in a vehicle, then pull it out and use it in places where cars aren’t permitted or practical.
“Innovation is really important for me,” said Vas, who collaborated with colleagues Daniel Hari and Dr. Uwe Wagner, and worked with designers from Ford of Europe and prototyping specialists from RWTH Aachen University to create Carr-E. “I was inspired by Ford’s expansion into both an auto and a mobility company, as well as our founder Henry Ford’s dedication to transforming transportation.”
Vas has been innovating since coming to Ford three years ago with a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering and a master’s in mechanical engineering, both from the University of Applied Science Dortmund. His first innovation at Ford, a head restraint that folds to allow space for a child seat and has foldable wings for napping, was patented.
Ultimately, Vas sees Carr-E as one of many solutions for the advanced transportation ecosystem evolving in city centres globally.