Inspired by the escape rooms that you may remember from when confined spaces were fun, Ford has turned the Mustang Mach-E into an interactive game to show what its user interface is capable of.
The spy game created by Ford Europe invites you to carry a package to a mysterious drop-off location using clues gained by solving puzzles to work out how to win the game. Honestly, this deep into the pandemic, this kind of sounds like fun to me.
If the idea of an “escape room” car that takes over certain of the vehicle’s controls sounds a little unsettling to you, though, you aren’t the only one. Ford assures us that the players are never confined to the car and can leave without losing the game. It also says that the game can only control the heaters and the speakers when the vehicle is in motion.
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“This is a bit of fun that has a serious side, as it shows just what could be possible with the technology we have in cars today,” explained Carsten Starke, technical expert interior materials & customer experience, Ford Research & Advanced Engineering, Ford of Europe. “Having the ability to create interaction between vehicle and driver could open up new ways to explore other possibilities in the future, like an interactive owner’s manual or even driver coaching.”
To play the game, it must be downloaded on an iOS device that interfaces with Apple CarPlay and an internally developed piece of hardware and software, says Ford. For now, it’s just a working concept developed by Ford of Europe and its emerging technology group in Palo Alto, California.
The company says, though, that it could offer a glimpse into the future of applications that might entertain and educate drivers and passengers while they wait for their vehicle to charge. It could even be useful in the future when autonomous cars become a thing.
