Honda Develops Scenic Audio App for the Blind & Visually Impaired

Honda has unveiled an app to enrich travel experiences for the blind and visually impaired. The Honda Scenic Audio app utilizes cutting-edge technologies and AI to provide audio descriptions of the landscape outside the vehicle in real time.

Developed in partnership with the Perkins School for the Blind's Howe Innovation Center, the app is said to be the first AI-powered accessibility tool built specifically for transportation. Through the use of computer vision, generative AI, satellite imagery, and other data sources, it creates meticulously detailed narratives of the scenery visible from the car window.

Going beyond basic dictations, the Scenic Audio app incorporates literary elements such as descriptive adjectives, identifiable sounds, elevation comparisons, and current temperature readings.

According to Honda, this gives users a rich, multifaceted understanding of their surroundings. The goal is to help expand the "joy of the journey" for those who cannot see the world outside.

Audio descriptions unlock inclusive experiences in media and entertainment for the blind and visually impaired, and Honda, with its Scenic Audio app, aims to do the same for travel.

The app is currently in beta testing with organizations in the blind community, including the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, a longtime Honda partner. If successful, Honda hopes to make the technology more widely available.

With further development, the Honda Scenic Audio app could enhance travel independence and quality of life for blind people worldwide.