Ford patents system to move pickup trucks via external handle

Ford Global Technologies has been granted U.S. patent number 12,728,722 for a system that allows a driver to move a pickup truck in small increments from the outside of the vehicle. The technology, titled ‘Systems and methods for moving a vehicle using externally mounted HMI’, utilizes an existing interface to control movement.

The system is designed to allow operators to move a truck forward or backward by interacting with the pop-up grab handle located on the tailgate step of Ford F-Series trucks. This feature aims to assist users in tasks such as unloading landscaping materials like stone, dirt, or mulch, which requires moving the vehicle a short distance at a time without the operator needing to repeatedly enter and exit the cab.

According to the patent, the amount of movement could be determined by the pressure applied to the handle. To ensure safety, the description suggests the potential use of a ‘dead-man switch’ to confirm intentional input and may require advanced sensors to prevent unsafe maneuvers.