Ford Tech Helps Blind Passengers Enjoy the View

Ford Motor Co. researchers have developed a technology that allows blind passengers to experience the surrounding landscape from a moving vehicle.

The prototype system, which Ford calls Feel the View, converts photos taken from a camera mounted on the top of a passenger window into a high-contrast grayscale image. The photo is reproduced on the window using special LEDs.

The various shades are translated into as many as 255 different levels of vibration intensity sent to the window. Visually impaired riders can then touch the window and feel what the outside topography looks like.

In addition to haptic feedback, Ford’s system uses artificial intelligence to provide an audio description of the view. For example, the technology could identify a “snowy mountain,” Ford says.

Ford designed the technology in Italy with local partner Aedo, a tech startup that develops products for the visually impaired. The advertising agency GTB Roma also contributed to the project.

Ford has no immediate plans to commercialize the system. But the carmaker says the technology is promising for next-generation vehicles, including fully autonomous models.

Watch a video about the technology here.