Ford, ADT partner on smart tech to deter vehicle theft

Driving the news: The companies are investing $105 million in Canopy, with Ford owning 60%.

• The first product, available in 2023 in the U.S. and U.K., will be a multi-sensor accessory that can be installed in any vehicle and connect to owners' smartphone with an app.
• Later, Canopy will introduce systems that can be integrated into the design of Ford vehicles.

How it works: The initial system will have a camera that can be mounted in either a van’s cargo area or on a pickup facing the bed and will make use of existing sensors, too, including acoustic sensors, onboard cameras, radar, LTE and GPS.

• The system will trigger an alert if it detects criminal activity, like the sound of breaking glass, or someone checking to see if the vehicle is locked.

• Canopy says the AI will be able to distinguish between true threats and benign acts — like a cat jumping into a pickup bed or construction noise near a vehicle.
• The app will let customers livestream video from the vehicle, get notified of suspicious activity or review past events.
• For an extra subscription price, ADT's professional monitoring service will also call the police when necessary.