Technology in cars is always a push and pull of innovation versus practicality, but there is one new advance that luxury vehicles will be getting soon that might combine both of those standards into one in a very unexpected way. One of the few truly useless things in a car is its insignia or hood ornament. While sometimes they do serve a purpose like opening the hood, they are usual just an aesthetic addon with no function, but a Spanish engineer José María Ortega Hernández might make this a functional part soon by transforming it into a drone.
Many cars have cameras that help keep them safe, the most notable example has come up recently and it is Tesla, with their security cameras mounted around the car that have recorded many instances of vandalism, but even those cameras are static. Having an extra camera that can be moved and controlled like a drone is not just the pinnacle of engineering pride, but also a nod to security that cannot be understated.
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While it might seem like this is an industry wide experiment, it is not, it has been created exclusively for Bentley. The company has a long history with its hood ornaments, which were implemented in 1920 at the request of customers. Although it had various iterations through the years, the ornament was a marker of the company until ’70s, when it was pulled due to safety laws banning solid hood ornaments and in 2006, Bentley brought it back with a clever update: the emblem could retract into the hood on impact, bypassing the safety concerns.
The ornament that has tuck around the longest is the “Flying B”, a brass letter B with wings sticking straight out, mounted tall on the hood, which is the one that we now associate with the company, but now it is getting this clever update. Instead of retracting on impact, thanks to Ortega, we might see it take flight soon.
He has created a very lightweight drone, just under 250 grams, with four tiny rotors hidden inside the emblem which will allow it to right out of the car’s nose and perform several helpful tasks. Some of the tasks described in the patent are:
- Emergency situations: If you’re in a nighttime accident, it can light up the area from above, making your car more visible to emergency crews.
- Finding your car: Imagine walking through a foggy parking lot or an unfamiliar area. The drone can guide you back to your vehicle.
- Scouting for parking: Let the drone fly ahead and hunt for a free spot while you cruise nearby.
- Helping with tricky roads: If you’re navigating backroads or off-the-beaten-path routes, the drone can scout ahead and suggest better options.
- Social media fun: It can grab aerial selfies or videos of your car for that perfect Instagram flex.
Ortega told Motorpasión (translated), “Ultimately, we must keep in mind that its proposed weight is less than 249 grams, so it would fall within the open category in Spain. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is a worldwide patent and a global idea. Therefore, the vision of the patent goes beyond Spain, into this global world, wherever Bentleys are sold around the world.”
We will still have to wait a little longer to see these flying emblems in public, as, according to Alejandro Terroba from Bentley Marbella, “It has been very well received and is in the works, but it is awaiting regulatory approval from agencies like Euro NCAP.”
There are a few concerns, like drone flight laws, privacy protection laws and operating a drone while driving, but if these obstacles can be conquered, we might be seeing a new car accessory that no one will want to miss out on.