Honda develops AI-powered accessibility app for blind, visually impaired

MANILA: Honda has developed the world’s first artificial intelligence (AI)-powered accessibility application for the blind and visually impaired.

Per the Japanese carmaker, the innovative web application dubbed Honda Scenic Audio can help disabled persons enjoy journeys through narrated nuanced real-time scenic audio descriptions of the world outside their car window.

“At Honda, through The Power of Dreams we apply our original technologies and ideas to realize mobility that enables our customers to enjoy life with more freedom, more convenience, and more fun,” Honda Marketing Senior Manager Phil Hruska said.

“By creating a detailed narrative of the roadside views during a scenic driving experience, the Honda Scenic Audio app can help to open imaginations and enhance the joy of car travel to blind and visually impaired passengers,” he added.

To deliver narrated content to users, the Honda Scenic Audio app uses a combination of computer vision, generative AI, satellite imaging, and a multitude of other technologies and sources, including geotargeting and weather reports. Altogether, these create a meticulously detailed, scenic narrative of what is taking place outside a car window.

“For the blind and visually impaired, audio descriptions in media and entertainment enable inclusive experiences. Honda Scenic Audio was built to create multifaceted narratives with a literary tone and expressive descriptions with nuanced adjectives, recognizable sounds, comparisons of heights and terrain, and even the temperature outside,” Honda said in a press release.

Honda has long supported the blind and visually impaired through the brand’s local and corporate corporate social responsibility efforts. Among them is the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) — an organization that currently beta-tests the Honda Scenic Audio app.

“AIDB was founded on the premise that all individuals, regardless of exceptionality, should have opportunities to live limitless, independent, productive lives,” AIDB President Dennis Gilliam, Ed.D. noted.

“Technology, such as the Scenic Audio app Honda is rolling out in this beta testing, has helped bridge the gap from reliance upon others to independent living and discovery. AIDB is thrilled to bring our dedication to innovation and collaboration to this partnership with Honda to support the power of all individuals to make their dreams a reality,” he stated.

The Honda Scenic Audio app was developed in partnership with Perkins School for the Blind’s Howe Innovation Center.

“At Perkins School for the Blind, we accelerate innovation for people with disabilities by connecting entrepreneurs, technologists, and organizations like Honda with real users for primary market research and user testing,” Perkins' DisabilityTech Community Executive Director Sandy Lacey noted.

“Scenic Audio supports our mission of creating a more accessible world for all by designing alongside and with the disability community. We are excited to collaborate on this project and applaud Honda for its leadership in creating inclusive auto experiences,” she explained.

No mention of when the app will be released. But when it does, Honda Scenic Audio could make traveling for the blind and visually impaired a lot more exciting.

Photos from Honda

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