“Smart” car window for blind passengers

© naftemporiki.gr “Smart” car window for blind passengers

A “smart” car window that gives blind passengers the ability to “see” the landscape that passes their vehicle is developed by Ford.

As the BBC says, the prototype, “Feel the View”, uses high-contrast photos to reproduce the landscape using LED lights. What the passengers are doing is touching the screen window to feel the different shades of gray to vibrate at different tensions.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People said it fully supports the company’s efforts as it will contribute to “wrecking walls” and make the trip more fun and enjoyable for visually impaired people, as Robin Springs, RNIB’s innovation manager, to the BBC.

Ford’s researchers in Italy and GTB Roma designed the prototype in partnership with Aedo, a local startup that manufactures devices for visually impaired people.

Beyond the windows, this “smart” car features an artificial intelligence assistant, vocally describing the landscape outside the window. In a video where technology is shown, a blind woman seems to be touching the outline of a mountain, while a voice describes the image as a “snowy mountain”.

 “We are striving to make people’s lives better, and that was a fantastic opportunity to help blind passengers experience a very nice dimension of driving”,

a Ford spokesman said.

Source: www.naftemporiki.gr