Ford works with Cambridge scientists to produce better cars for older drivers

Ford is getting help from experts at Cambridge University, to develop cars that are better suited to people with age-related vision problems.

By using the University's ‘Vision and Hearing Impairment Simulator’, engineers are able to see the car’s instruments as they appear to someone with vision impairment. This impairment might be caused by any one of a range of eye conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts or age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The simulator allows Ford to optimise the design of its instrument displays, to ensure they can be read safely and comfortably by as many drivers as possible.

“There are many people with vision problems that still can drive and we want to make it as safe and easy as possible for them as long as their sight is also being regularly checked by an optician,” says a Ford spokesperson. “Our work with Cambridge gives us a real understanding of the difficulties many people face and helps us design our products to better suit the needs of a larger percentage of our customers.”

Sam Waller, a research associate at Cambridge, explains how the simulator software works: "You load in an image, select a visual impairment and it lets you see the image as someone with that impairment would see it. You can then load in other designs and instantly compare the effects, or you can change the impairment and see how the design stands up to different problems.

“Even in the case of age-related macular degeneration, where the loss of central vision moves around with the eye, the software simulates this effect by allowing the user to move the ‘blind-spot’ around to see its effect on different parts of the image.”

For now, the research is at an early stage and Ford is simply identifying areas for improvement and coming up with solutions. The engineers will then implement these solutions in future Ford cars.

Illustration: Ford. Illustration shows how a car's instruments appear to those with 'normal' vision. Cambridge University scientists have developed simulators to reproduce the vision of those with cataracts and other age-related vision impairments. www.ford.co.uk