Many debates surround AI technology and its ever-expanding role in our world. AI is at the forefront of the push for autonomous vehicles in the automotive industry. However, self-driving cars, such as robotaxis, have proved divisive thus far. If everyone can agree that one recent piece of technology represents AI at its best, it’s Honda’s Scenic Audio App. The app allows visually impaired passengers to more fully enjoy the experience of traveling by car.

Honda’s Scenic Audio App

According to a press release from Honda’s newsroom, the automaker has used AI technology to create an innovative app that can give creative, detailed audio descriptions to visually impaired and blind passengers of what the world outside the car looks like. It’s a much better use of this groundbreaking technology than creating deep fakes!

Honda collaborated with the Howe Innovation Center of the Perkins School for the Blind to develop this revolutionary AI-powered accessibility app. As Creative Technologist Jason Carmel explains, “The app is a combination of several different artificial intelligences working together, and then several different data sets working together.”

Carmel further explained what these data sets and artificial intelligence are: “We use things like computer vision to see what’s out there and then generative AI to describe it in a meaningful way. Adding to that are all these data sets that provide much more context of things like the weather outside, the traffic, what direction you’re going, and then points of interest along the way that might help us describe things in a much more interesting way.”

Creating A More Inclusive Experience

At the heart of this app’s lively, literary dictations created through technologies ranging from generative AI and satellite imaging to computer vision, weather reports, and geo-targeting is an effort to make the world more inclusive.

In much the same way that audio descriptions for various forms of entertainment can make those experiences more accessible for those who are blind and visually impaired, Honda’s Scenic Audio App can transform a car ride into something special. It’s akin to a visually impaired or blind person getting real-time storybook narration of the world as it passes their car window.

Testimonials From Blind and Visually Impaired App Testers

In a video from Honda promoting the Scenic Audio App, a few people shared what it’s like riding in a car as a visually impaired person. One of these individuals, Cory, said of his experience, “People that are sighted have constant input. Like, I don’t know what I’m missing until I know what I’m missing. I knew I was missing out, but I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to inconvenience other people.”

While a visually impaired woman, Cassandra said, “Sometimes when I’m in the car with friends, I do feel lonely. It’s a very isolating experience.”

After hearing about Honda’s Scenic Audio App, Cory said, “I can get in a car and get the same information as a sighted person. That’s a really cool idea.”

A Fruitful Partnership

Per their press release, Honda has been a longtime partner of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, with whom they are performing beta testing for the Scenic Audio App. These beta tests will allow Honda to gain valuable insights from individuals in the visually impaired and blind community. The Howe Innovation Center of the Perkins School for the Blind also assists and facilitates these beta tests.

Phil Hruska, director of Honda’s marketing, spoke about the deeper goal of this app during Honda’s promotional video: “This app is really more about storytelling.” Hruska added, “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.”

A Sample of What The App Can Do

The app can be seen at work during Honda’s promotional video when it narrates beach scenery that the car passes, “As we cruise down Pine Street, our gaze falls upon a sandy shore. Peaceful waves ripple gently, and distant figures stroll along the water’s edge, enjoying the serene maritime vibe of Vineyard Haven.”

Another example of the Scenic Audio App’s description capabilities can be seen later in the video when the app describes Boston’s iconic Fenway Park as “struck by the iconic green and white facade, the towering red brick walls adorned with banners of legendary ball players.”

It’s hands down one of the most remarkable uses of AI we’ve seen yet. It will be exciting to see how more members of the blind and visually impaired communities receive this app once testing wraps up and it makes its way out into the world.