The Detroit News, May 10, 2016 -- Ford Motor Co. thinks the driverless cars of tomorrow could come with their own drones.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office published a Ford patent application for a drone deployment system that would work with autonomous vehicles to serve as the car’s “eyes” by flying ahead and mapping its surroundings. Passengers would use the car’s infotainment or navigation systems to control the drone as an aerial sensor.

“The drone device is introduced to the vehicle system in order to extend the range at which the vehicle is about to obtain information on its surroundings beyond the range of any one or more sensors, visual systems and/or communications interfaces that may be onboard the vehicle,” the patent says.

The patent also allows for the drone to accomplish delivery of items to and from the vehicle. In addition to a quad-copter or other flying device, the drone could be “a terrestrial model capable of land travel or a marine model capable of traveling on top or under water.”

Just because Ford has the patent for the technology doesn’t mean the system will ever be produced.

“As a technology leader, we submit patents on innovative ideas as a normal course of business,” a Ford spokesman said in a statement. “Patent applications are intended to protect new ideas but aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans.”