New Hyundai Technology Helps Hearing-Impaired Drivers
New Hyundai technology uses visual and tactile cues to alert hearing-impaired drivers to sounds outside the vehicle
New technology from Hyundai will make it easier for hearing-impaired drivers to travel in safety and comfort.
According to Hyundai, the goal of this new technology is to extend “freedom of mobility” to a greater number of people no matter their physical abilities.
Here’s how the technology works: Enabled by artificial intelligence, it analyzes sound patterns inside and outside the vehicle and translates them into sight-based and touch-based cues. This provides a way to help hearing-impaired drivers take advantage of their other senses that are more highly developed.
One part of the technology, audiovisual conversion (AVC), uses visuals on the Head-Up Display to locate and represent sound patterns coming from outside the vehicle — for example, sirens or horns. It also uses multicolored LED lights on the steering wheel to alert the driver to important navigation information.
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Another part of the technology, audio-tactile conversion (ATC), translates sounds outside the vehicle into steering wheel vibrations as a way to alert drivers to other key information. For example, the vehicle’s distance from an obstacle can be communicated with vibrations of different lengths.
To introduce this new technology, Hyundai released “Quiet Taxi,” a video featuring hearing-impaired South Korean taxi driver Daeho Lee.
In the video, Lee’s taxi is equipped with Hyundai’s new technology, enabling him to do his job with significantly less stress and fatigue while communicating more effectively with his passengers and other drivers.
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