The Ford Motor Company is already working hard on the issue of identification of motorcycles travelling between rows of cars, and recently it was granted a patent by the USPTO for its lane-splitting detection system for autonomous vehicles.

According to the patent, Ford’s engineers have decided to use a combination of microphones and video cameras to detect approaching motorcycles. Once the motorcycle has been detected, the autonomous vehicle then has the option of not changing lanes, signaling longer, or changing lanes more slowly.

Being able to detect approaching motorcycles is an extremely important feature for autonomous vehicles as it concerns the safety and health of people, besides the lane-splitting is officially permitted in many regions by the traffic rules.

Obviously, the technology could also be applied to non-autonomous vehicles as well, as it can be useful for all drivers who do not always notice motorcyclists.

With the patent filed in late-2015, we probably won’t have to wait too long to see a working prototype or even a ready-made option appearing in Ford’s vehicles.