DEARBORN, Mich. (WJW) – Ford Motor Co. could be developing new technology for drivers who have a dead battery in their vehicle.

Ford has filed a patent that describes technology for drones that could jump-start Ford vehicles.

The patent, first filed in April of 2017, is for a system with a “computer programmed to actuate a plurality of drones to first establish one or more electrical connections therebetween and then to provide a jump start to a vehicle.”

According to the filing, which was published on March 28, future Ford vehicles would be able to send out a “jump start request,” which would alert one or more drones. 

The drones would then navigate to the vehicle’s location, open the hood and jump-start the vehicle, according to Fox News reports. 

According to Ford Authority, a website that reports Ford news, says the company has filed multiple other drone-related patents in recent years, including one that could help owners locate their vehicles.

Another patent application describes multiple ways in which future Ford vehicles could repossess themselves or go into a “lockout condition” if the driver misses payments, according to Fox News reports.

“We don’t have any plans to deploy this. We submit patents on new inventions as a normal course of business but they aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans,” a company spokesperson told FOX Television Stations. “In 2022, Ford was granted 1,342 patents – or more than three a day – “spanning a wide range of ideas.”