Ford Motor Co. and a security company are teaming up to outfit vehicles with high-tech security systems to help fight crime.
The service will be offered to individual consumers in the UK and the U.S. next year, the companies said in a statement. Artificial intelligence, cameras, and human monitors can help distinguish a bird from a criminal.
The effort is part of the push to provide services to car buyers by Jim Farley, who believes that a $20 billion market will pull Ford out of boom-and-bust car cycles. Ford X was a new-business incubator that was modeled on the X Development unit.
Ford is providing the majority of the financing. They think there's big potential in the business of car security. $7.4 billion in work equipment was stolen from vehicles in the US in 2020.
During the Pandemic, business owners store upwards of $50,000 of gear in the cargo beds of their trucks, and theft has been on the rise, according to the chief business development officer of the company. We are excited to try to solve a problem that has been around for a long time.
The subscription service is unique because it uses human monitors from the home security business of ADT, which handles 15 million alarms a year. The monitors can alert the owners of the vehicle.
Canopy will provide customers with cameras trained on truck beds and cargo areas of vans, which can be monitored on a smartphone app. The company will integrate its technology with cameras, sensors and gps on vehicles eventually.
The service will begin on the F-150 pickup truck and the electric Lightning model of the transit van. The service will eventually be offered to the owners of other vehicles.
Christian Moran, Canopy's interim CEO, said in an interview that there are already 100 million vans and trucks on the road. There is a lot of demand.
The company will be based in Detroit and London, with plans to hire 250 workers over the next two years. He wouldn't say if the partners plan to spin off Canopy in a public stock offering.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
