When we drive we sometimes take the view we can see outside the window for granted. For some of us we might instead choose to bury our noses in our phones (assuming you’re not the one driving), but it’s these small pleasures in life that we take for granted that others, such as the visually impaired, might not have the luxury to experience.
However the folks at Ford are hoping to change that because they have unveiled a prototype of a smart car window. This is a window that lets those who are visually impaired to “see” their surroundings. According to Ford, “Feel The View takes pictures that are turned into high-contrast monochrome images. These are then reproduced on the glass using special LEDs. By touching the image, different shades of grey vibrate with a range of 255 intensities, allowing passengers to touch the scene and rebuild in their mind the landscape in front of them.”
This concept was developed by Ford’s team in Italy and GTB Roma in collaboration with Aedo, a local company that specializes in creating devices for the visually impaired. No doubt that this is an interesting concept but whether or not it will materialize as an actual product like an optional add-on accessory remains to be seen, but for now you can check it out in action in the video above.
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