Ford Patents Idea for Turning Multiple Cars Into One Huge Sound System

The patent was published by the USPTO on April 20 under the underwhelming name of the "Multi-Vehicle Audio System." The clever idea is that multiple vehicles could have their audio systems wirelessly synced up to act as individual speakers in a large-scale stereo or surround sound configuration. For example, two vehicles could be parked on either side of a party, and assigned to act as the left and right speakers respectively. Each vehicle will then play the appropriate sound for its assigned channel.

Ford also uses diagrams to demonstrate other applications of the technology. Various layouts show cars acting as a speaker system for an outdoor cinema. There's also a four-way surround setup around a group of people that would be ideal for tailgating or a dance floor.

Ford's patent speaks particularly about using the technology on autonomous vehicles. The system would thus be able to command the cars to arrange themselves in the necessary configuration for stereo or surround sound in the given area. The vehicles would then be commanded to open the doors, windows, or roof, before playing content at an appropriate volume to get the party started.

The technology would realistically work just as well without autonomous vehicles, of course. It would just require that the vehicles be manually parked in the right configuration before syncing them up to play. The patent notes that vehicles would use GPS and communicate wirelessly to determine their own position in the audio system and play the right channel content accordingly.

The Drive has reached out to Ford regarding the patent and any future plans to put it into production. This article will be updated when a response from Ford is available.