Ford Develops Autonomous Trailer Hitching For Future F-150s

Truck ownership can be a lot of fun. You can see over most other motorists, you can go just about anywhere, and you can use these vehicles for business and pleasure in equal measure. But that pleasure tends to dissipate after a few unsuccessful attempts at hitching your trailer. It's embarrassing to have to try over and over again, but things like rearview cameras help simplify the process. Still, it can be a challenge tomaster towing. That's why the likes of GM have found ways ofmaking it simplerwhile Ford has developed a system to make reversing a trailer easier calledPro Trailer Backup Assist. But it seems that this was not satisfactory, and now the Blue Oval is working on a more advanced system that will do the deed without needing a driver behind the wheel. That's right, autonomous trailer hitching could become a reality for yourFord F-150 Lightning.

CarBuzzunearthed a new Ford patent application with the USPTO this morning, seemingly depicting a truck autonomously hitching to a trailer. This new application is being described as a "trailer hitching assistance system with contact mitigation measures." It is designed to assist in aligning a vehicle with a trailer and includes a controller that can scan the environment behind the vehicle to make maneuvering towards it simpler. Numerous scanners and camera angles and controllers make up the system, but the simplest way to describe it is as an automatic hitching system.

The idea is that the system will be able to automatically maneuver a truck towards a trailer even if the two vehicles are not aligned. Furthermore, the system can warn against and help prevent hitting the trailer with your vehicle.