Ford Car Window Helps Blind Passengers 'feel' The View

Image copyright Ford

Ford is developing a new smart car window to let blind passengers experience the passing landscape.

A prototype, called Feel the View, uses high-contrast photos to reproduce scenery using LED lights.

Passengers can touch the display to feel different shades of grey vibrate at different intensities.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People said the charity "wholeheartedly supports" the company's effort.

"[It] could contribute to breaking down barriers and making travel more enjoyable and inclusive for people living with sight loss," Robin Spinks, innovation manager at RNIB, told the BBC.

Ford's team in Italy and GTB Roma designed the prototype with Aedo, a local start-up that creates devices for people with visual impairments.

In addition to the window displays, the smart car also features a voice assistant that uses artificial intelligence to describe the scenery outside the window.

A video for the technology shows a blind woman tracing the outline of a mountain while an automated voice identifies the image as a "snowy mountain".

A Ford spokesman said: "We seek to make people's lives better and this was a fantastic opportunity to help blind passengers experience a great aspect of driving."