Ford investigates creating a mobile data network using the cars themselves

A car can already tap into the mobile wireless network: accessing navigation information, connecting to emergency services and even downloading and streaming content to in-vehicle entertainment systems. But what if the car went one step further? Instead of being the end-node of a network like any other smartphone or laptop, what if the car could be used to create a network? What if it could connect to other cars to form constantly morphing mobile mesh network that helped drivers avoid accidents, identify traffic jams miles before they encounter them and even act as a relay point for Internet access?

These are the questions Ford Motor Company chief technology officer and vice president of research Paul Mascarenas is not only asking but is pretty close to answering. Mascarenas was recently in Chicago, the country’s most congested major market, to show what ad hoc networking in vehicles could do to save drivers hours of commute time and even save a few lives.