Ford Patent Would Let You Steer Your Car by Tilting Your Phone

It's like a video game, except you could actually die.

Steer Clear

We've known since January that the Ford Motor Company was developing an autonomous car with no steering wheel or gas pedal. Now we've got a better picture of what they had in mind — Ford just had a patent approved for a system that would let a driver steer a car by tilting or swiping their smartphone.

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CarBuzz first spotted the patent. As they pointed out, there are already smartphone games that use tilting for a control scheme — and they aren't terribly accurate.

CarBuzz predicts the automotive giant would be "crucified" for the clunky controls. But it's not yet clear that the tech will ever find its way into the real world — 95 percent of patents don't get licensed, according to WIRED.

Still, the patent does address a key question about the future of autonomous cars with no steering wheels: How will riders control the vehicles if they're ever forced to take over?

READ MORE: Ford Patents Video Game Steering For Autonomous Cars [CarBuzz]

More on ethical AI: The US Government Wants to Allow Fully Autonomous Vehicles on US Roads