Ford's smart windows can help blind passengers take in the view

[Rhiannon12866]

It converts the view into vibrations that they can feel on the window.

Ford has created a device that could help visually impaired travelers get a sense of what the scenery around them looks like. It's called "Feel the View" and it turns a window into a vibrating depiction of what's outside. First, with the push of a button, the device snaps a picture of the window's view. It then turns that picture into a grayscale image and each shade of gray corresponds to a vibration of different intensity. Feel the View can generate up to 255 different levels of vibrations. The blind or visually impaired rider can then touch the window and feel what the outside looks like.

Along with the vibrations, an AI-powered vocal assistant connected to the car's audio system can give a short description of what's being felt. In the video below, you can see the vocal assistant tell a rider that she's touching a snowy mountain as she traces it on the window. "We seek to make people's lives better and this was a fantastic opportunity to help blind passengers experience a great aspect of driving," Ford Italy spokesperson Alù Saffi said in a statement. "The technology is advanced, but the concept is simple – and could turn mundane journeys into truly memorable ones."

Ford says Feel the View -- which was conceived and developed by Ford's Italian team, GTB Roma and Aedo, a start-up interested in devices for the visually impaired -- is a prototype. We've reached out to Ford to see if there are plans to further develop and manufacture the device and we'll update this post when we hear more.

No more at link: https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/01/ford-smart-windows-help-blind-passengers-take-in-view/

[FailureToCommunicate]

1. Interesting, but a blind passenger could always have a sighted one describe the scenery. Similar to

Last edited Thu May 3, 2018, 09:18 AM - Edit history (1)

descriptive video service, "DVS", the descriptive narration system of movies and television for blind and visually impaired developed many years ago at WGBH TV in Boston.

Part of what makes DVS so appealing, is that the writers providing the description of visual elements in any given scene are excellent. So, to take the example from this ad from Ford, "snowy mountain" might become "In a valley ringed by snow capped mountains. A lake of the bluest water, in the far distance, the grey of millions of tonnes of granite, is softened by the pristine snow in the jagged crevices. Even higher up not a hint of grey could peek through, it is simply brilliant white piercing the clouds..."

http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/services/description/

And often at places of stunning beauty like National Parks, one can usually get a device that gives a running description of what others are seeing, often with very interesting context and history added to the experience.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Thank you - I didn't know about that, another great idea!

I thought that this concept was fascinating, letting the blind actually "see" by themselves in real time. I applaud anything that makes progress, it's got to be the toughest challenge to overcome...

[marble falls]

3. Why?

[Rhiannon12866]

4. Why not?

This is amazing technology and anything that helps is a wonderful thing.

[ret5hd]

5. Ford's smart windows after 50 miles:

[Rhiannon12866]

6. True, but does that matter?