A few years ago, Ford created an in-house startup incubator called FordX to create and support mobility technologies. FordX went public with business called Canopy, a 60/40 joint venture with security company ADT. Canopy wants to do for vehicles what Ring has done for front gates and driveways, namely providing 24-hour live streamable video of what’s happening around a car and reacting to traffic. potential threat by voice or something else. The first product won’t launch in the US and UK until next year, aiming to commercial truck and truck owners. It will be an easily installable camera equipped with a variety of sensors such as radar and acoustic sensors that will travel in the cargo area of a truck or in the back of a pickup looking at the bed. And yes, it will work through subscription service.
Ford and ADT have developed AI that claims to know the difference between benign intruders such as otters and cats, versus thieves. Vehicle owners will be able to log into the video feed to check on the situation at any time. When a real threat like broken glass or noise like metal cutters is detected, Canopy sends a notification to the owner through the app. The system will also automatically alert the ADT in such a situation, where human monitoring officers can contact the owner, fleet manager or the police. Finally, the updates will enable the ability for owners to speak to the threat through the speaker on the Canopy camera, if desired, or a pre-programmed message can play ED-209 and let the officer know he has ten seconds to follow the instructions.
The first product will launch as part of Ford Pro for Ford vehicles, but the plan is for a brand-agnostic system to be sold at agency, major retailers and online. And while the camera launching next year will be a standalone component, the planned product development process calls for a Canopy system that links to the vehicle’s cameras and sensors and serves any vehicle. Anyone who wants to protect their belongings, not just commercial users. Peace of mind is also a consideration that was made during two years of testing here and in the UK. “While this wasn’t one of our original features, we heard from a number of pilot participants that this was not one of our initial features,” said Christian Moran, FordX Director and Interim CEO of Canopy. one of their favorite features was actually going live around their car when it was dark at night.Imagine you were walking into a dark, empty parking lot and you could use the app to look around my car.”
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