[libranof1987]

If you thought advertisements during YouTube videos or pop-ups on websites were pesky, Ford plans to take it to another level of annoying.

They've filed a patent for technology that draws information from billboards and show it on the MID. As intrusive and distracting as it sounds, it may just be vey likely that this becomes a reality.

The Ford Motor Company has announced the passing of a patent for a new program that will draw information from the billboard ads surrounding the area where a Ford-manufactured car is driving and display segments of that data on the vehicle's infotainment display for the driver's viewing.

While annoying and even invasive to many owners of Ford vehicles, these advertisements can be a smart way to attract drivers to food offered at a nearby restaurant or apparel at a local clothing store. In fact, the company reports trying to solve the issue of billboards frequently not including information such as phone number, email or website URL for potential customers to get in contact and learn more about the advertised product or location. For this reason, the data shown on the infotainment display will emphasize segments with this data, so that drivers can more easily engage with and get something out of the surrounding ads.

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-05-...ads-local.html

[PrasunBannerjee]

This might be perhaps for the same reason Chinese smartphone manufacturers were trying to enter EV markets, for additional ad revenues. Ford got to it first.

Who knows in the future you might need to watch an ad before you start the car or unlock the doors after you park the car.

[iamahunter]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

If you thought advertisements during YouTube videos or pop-ups on websites were pesky, Ford plans to take it to another level of annoying.

They've filed a patent for technology that draws information from billboards and show it on the MID. As intrusive and distracting as it sounds, it may just be vey likely that this becomes a reality.



https://techxplore.com/news/2021-05-...ads-local.html

Oh No!!

I have a billboard right outside my building and its clearly visible from my parking!!


The ad revenue is a huge market and this technology can be loosely related to location based marketing.
Where in you get ads based on your mobile location. for eg - Joshi wadewale ads when in Pune or some hotel/resort ad while visiting a place.


But imagine something like, watch a 5 second ad to start your car, in the next update it becomes a mandatory 30 second advertisement and then it will be a minute's advertisement.

Or, watch a 30 second mandatory ad to unlock seat belt before leaving the car.

Even worst, watch this 10 seconds ad to deploy the airbag!

[TrackDay]

This was bound to come anyway whether Ford did it or not. There is a particular stretch of good road between my home city and the next town where huge billboards are the norm. Along one particular curve of the route, there used to be ladies lingerie ads and accidents were very common on that portion of the road and you can probably guess the gender of the majority who got into accidents. I detest billboards anywhere, there are a menace period. From highways to city centers, villages or cities, India or abroad. Now they have found a way to creep into our vehicles too I am pretty sure most of the common public hates advertisements and now it is getting way too far. I suppose if using smartphones while driving is illegal, this too should be made illegal. No wonder every car maker is eager to slap touchscreens of the largest sizes on their cars. Like someone once said, car companies are evolving - they don't just make cars anymore, it is much more.

The solution to this menace, go old school !

[warrioraks]

Sounds outrightly annoying. The only way this becomes useful - if it’s based on a consent-based system which can be toggled on/off through a switch. In all other scenarios, it appears to be a disaster.

I do feel Ford would implement this sensibly, but other companies might not. Already dreading the day where I will be force-fed such ads. Hope humanity and sanity prevails!

[Mr.Boss]

Taking innovation to the next level. I'm wondering how this AI will function once deployed in India. We have bill boards posted one over the other, some half missing boards, in multiple languages.

Originally Posted by iamahunter

But imagine something like, watch a 5 second ad to start your car,
30 second mandatory ad to unlock seat belt
10 seconds ad to deploy the airbag

Couldn't resist sharing this

[GTO]

No chance this will happen. Showing ads on YouTube or TV channels is one thing, but the car is your own property that you have paid lakhs of rupees for. No car owner is going to tolerate being shown ads in his car.

Only exceptions I can think of are cabs, rental cars, buses etc. But ads showing in a 35-lakh rupee Endeavour? Fat chance. Any car manufacturer that tries it is being penny wise, pound foolish. Like cheap BMW which tried to charge for Apple CarPlay.

I know that car manufacturers are all gung ho on the 'subscription' business and want a piece of the action, but they need to understand it's not as easy with cars as it is with software or music.

[rohitoasis]

Is Ford or for that matter anybody sure if any of the statutory safety norms will allow distractions such as ads appear while driving. Yes it would be less of a distraction checking the MID instead of craning out for reading a billboard.

The opportunities of tie ups between car manufacturers and other brands are huge though. These days cars remind you to have a break or have a coffee to avoid fatigue setting in. However they could very well direct you to the nearest cafe or restaurant which has a revenue sharing tie up with the manufacturer.

Still i feel adding advertisements would require serious lobbying with law makers to bypass road safety guidelines. Experts on this subject may chime in. I could be wrong.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by GTO

No chance this will happen. Showing ads on YouTube or TV channels is one thing, but the car is your own property that you have paid lakhs of rupees for. No car owner is going to tolerate being shown ads in his car.

Only exceptions I can think of are cabs, rental cars, buses etc. But ads showing in a 35-lakh rupee Endeavour? Fat chance. Any car manufacturer that tries it is being penny wise, pound foolish. Like cheap BMW which tried to charge for Apple CarPlay.

I know that car manufacturers are all gung ho on the 'subscription' business and want a piece of the action, but they need to understand it's not as easy with cars as it is with software or music.

Never say never. What if all car manufacturers were to jump on the bandwagon. Or alternately if dual pricing weee offered - x price for an ad free car. X minus y price for a car with ads.

I dearly hope that day doesnt come but I really wouldnt put money on anything either way.

[railfanwithk750]

In the worst case that this becomes a reality, I am sure there will be way to hack out of this nonsense.

Scenario 1: There has to be a camera mounted somewhere on the front to scan the billboards. RFID and other technologies would be hard, considering the average speed of a vehicle when it passes a billboard and other factors. So, what if I block the camera with some tape? Adblock, jugaad style!

Scenario 2: Lets say the camera plays a pivotal role (front camera or dashcam maybe?) What if I change the HUD to a third party unit? Technically, it should get rid of ads too, assuming third party HUDs won't have the compatibility to read the ad data feed from the camera.

[Singh101]

On one hand, the possibilities are exciting. GPS based ads, say as I'm approaching my favourite coffee place- "Hey! Craving a cold coffee? Tap to place your usual order NOW!"-
and it'll be ready, waiting to go by the time I get there?

N-i-c-e.

On the other hand, I hate ads. All of them. I use YouTube Vanced and AdAway on my rooted phone just so that I don't have ads of any kind (Sorry TeamBHP, GTO.. I'll buy something from the shop to make up for it I swear )



Thanks a lot, Ford.

[kadanaJ]

Very real possibility. Manufacturers don't care that about your property.

Once you purchase a product, they will continue to find unethical means to make money off you, whether that be by extracting your data, or showing you ads.

Many products make you agree to unreasonable terms and conditions, often after you've purchased the product.

Actual example: I have an LETV brand television. It has a 15 second start-up animation (all Android TV's from that era used to have slow start-ups). After 2-3 years of owning this TV, the manufacturer, through software update, sneakily changed the start-up animation to a 15 second Chinese Nissan ad.
I was quite furious when it happened. The only solution was to reset my TV to factory settings, and never let it connect to the internet again.

[Rambo-RS]

On a lighter note :

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by GTO

No chance this will happen. .... but the car is your own property that you have paid lakhs of rupees for. ....but they need to understand it's not as easy with cars as it is with software or music.

I agree, although I am wondering if the manufacturers, with the ever increasing electronics and software components of a car and with the rise of Connected cars, will eventually package some features of the software as a service, and that gives manufacturers the entry door for Advertisement content. How feasible/likely is this?

[FloatingCanvas]

Originally Posted by GTO

No chance this will happen. Showing ads on YouTube or TV channels is one thing, but the car is your own property that you have paid lakhs of rupees for. No car owner is going to tolerate being shown ads in his car.

.

You would think so.

Samsung is placing banner ads on several stock apps on their flagships including the S21 Ultra, which costs a bomb. I use a S8 and have stopped updating Samsung apps because all they do is delete features and add ads.

In US, there are cheaper verions of mobiles/tabs/ebook readers which come with ads. The price is almost 30% lower than standard variants. That's fine because it's still a choice.

Xiaomi started this annoying ads feature on their Redmi series of phones with disturbing ads popping everywhere - stock music/video player, file manager, etc. When asked, they said that they need this ad revenue to subsidise production costs. And to buy their flagships to avoid ads.

Mi pulling this for budget phones is one thing. Samsung doing it for their most expensive phones is on another level.

Just saying, we can never underestimate the greed of companies, especially if they all decide to adopt a lucrative (though unethical) practice. The way Apple and later Samsung have discontinued providing chargers with new phones.