The automaker has partnered with Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, to research linking GPS satellites with automobiles, allowing drivers to use the system for something other than navigation. Researchers believe that GPS satellites can precisely monitor a car’s position and movement, and possibly provide an early warning of an imminent rollover or spinout. Accordingly, the car’s stability system could then be activated.
Although it has only been tested in virtual reality, Ford believes it has already achieved breakthroughs in developing algorithms that combine signals from sensors on the car with information relayed from the GPS network. Ford plans on detailing its findings at an electronics engineering conference this week, and will move the project into a physical prototype phase later this year.