After revealing plans for a glass that helps blind people see, Ford is going ‘full superhero’ by registering a patent for a car that has a hidden motorbike within it - like the Batmobile!
It may be seen as one of Ford’s wackiest ideas ever, but it’s an idea born of necessity, with the autonomous in-built motorcycle, which sits between the driver and passenger seat, expected to be the solution when you are stuck in traffic.
The bike, in true Batman style, ejects autonomously out of the front of the vehicle and will be driven by an electric motor according to the literature provided along with the patent drawings.
“A multimodal transportation apparatus comprising a passenger car with a driver seat, a passenger seat and a centre console; a motorcycle equipped with and autonomously driven by an electric motor; and a securing apparatus that releasable, fixedly secures the motorcycle to the passenger car,” the patent reads. “The motorcycle is arranged between the driver seat and the passenger seat in a direction of travel.”
However, the bike in question is unlikely to be as cool or stylish as one which you might find Batman speeding around Gotham City on, it’s a motorised, electric bike intended to be used in urban areas which have limited parking spaces.
The hybrid car-bike would be ideal for driving to the edge of very congested inner-city areas, where it can be left at hub before the driver continues the journey on the bike.
The car “further comprises a rechargeable battery that supplies power to the electric motor and is connected electrically in parallel with a passenger car battery”. In essence, the two batteries – car and motorcycle – work in tandem to charge the battery.
Earlier this week, Ford revealed it had designed a technology which allows visually impaired passengers to experience the view of their drive, with vibrations on glass, called ‘Feel The View’.