Last year Ford filed for a patent which saw its future self-driving cars fitted with removable pedals and steering wheel. While the patent was published earlier this month, reports state that the steering wheel and pedals will not be completely removed from the equation since the car maker feels it essential for testing purposes or individual driving desires.
The patent also depicts how Ford encountered a peculiar hurdle when the steering wheel was not in place. There is some apprehension over the use of an airbag in both the steering wheel and the dashboard (driver side), since the dashboard airbag needs to be deactivated when the steering wheel is in use. These patent images display how the airbag deployment occurs in both scenarios, and it also goes on to show how the connection openings will be covered by trim when the steering and pedals are removed.
Despite there being no concrete regulations in place for self-driving cars of the future, brands like Ford are inventing stuff that will solve concerns that they expect will crop up in their autonomous fleet. It will eventually help them package these self-driving features into cars that will be sold with/without autonomous functions, depending upon the market.
