Ford has unveiled a new prototype system that enables the visually impaired to experience some tactile representation of the surroundings outside the vehicle they are riding in. Dubbed ‘Feel The View’, the device is attached to the vehicle’s window, and captures an image of the passing environment at the press of a button.
The recorded picture is then converted into a greyscale image, which the window-mounted device converts to vibrations for tactile feedback, corresponding to one of 255 shades of grey. With the aid of online artificial intelligence, an integrated vocal assistant connects with the vehicle’s audio system to put the rendered tactile images into context for the visually-impaired user.
Ford has not indicated whether or not the tactile ‘viewing’ device will make it into series production, however it does appear to be at a reasonably polished stage of development. For the optically less privileged, it would surely be a welcome innovation.
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