Ford Patents Moisture-Sensing Seat Technology

The system senses moisture and adjusts the seat's climate control automatically to keep you warm (or cool) and dry.

  • Ford has issued a patent for moisture-sensing seat technology from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • The system utilizes liquid-permeable seat covers which allow sensors to detect wetness or dampness.
  • The seat's climate-control system is automatically adjusted to return seating to comfortable dryness.

    Heated and ventilated seats are one of our favorite new-car features, and now Ford is making them even better by patenting a new technology that detects moisture in the seat and adjusts the climate control accordingly.

    The system is actually not much more complex than your typical heated and ventilated seat systems. There's a moisture sensor located within the seat that senses liquid. It can do this because the seat's cover has multiple liquid-permeable openings that allow for liquid to seep through to the sensor. There's even a light sensor inside the seat that indicates the presence of a wet-seat condition.

    Climate-controlled seats are usually operated through two separate systems. Seats warm up by means of a series of resistors that heat up when an electric current is passed through them, and seats are cooled by a fan under the seat cushion. However, Ford isn't the first automaker to revolutionize heated and cooled seats. Tesla recently came up with a way to have seats be both liquid heated and cooled.

    This new moisture-sensing system may sound a bit gross, but we can see how it would be helpful. If you're sweaty on a hot day, the seat will know and automatically switch on the seat's ventilation system. On the other hand, if it's snowing, and you open the door and snow falls onto the seat, the heating system will kick in. Sounds convenient, right?

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