Jeep patents drone system as an off-road assistant

Jeep is looking at ways to integrate drones with its vehicles, as recent patent filings indicate.

One possible use Jeep is looking to patent is off-road spotting. Instead of a person getting out of the vehicle to survey the terrain ahead and direct the driver over the appropriate line through obstacles, Jeep proposes deploying a drone from an in-vehicle docking station.

Once the drone is deployed, it can fly ahead of the vehicle and establish a data link, sending images directly to the vehicle’s dashboard display to help guide the driver, according to the patent filing.

A second patent application goes into a bit more detail on the docking station for the drone. This would be located within the vehicle’s interior, possibly as part of a center console storage bin, the document suggests. It would be equipped to charge the drone, and to send signals allowing the drone to undock and fly out of the vehicle—perhaps through an open sunroof.

A third patent filing describes and alternative use for the drone itself. Instead of scouting ahead for obstacles, the drone could serve as a security escort for vehicle occupants. The same docking station and drone-to-vehicle data link could be used here as well, Jeep notes, but in this case the drone would follow a driver or passengers as they walk away from or back to the vehicle.

Jeep isn’t the first automaker to hit upon the idea of combining drones and off-roading. Both Rivian and General Motors have filed patent applications for drone scouting systems similar to Jeep’s, although neither filing discussed using drones as airborne sentries.