Lyft to use AR glasses to help the visually impaired hail taxis
Lyft is partnering with San Diego start-up Aira to make it easier for visually impaired people to use the ride-hailing service, with the help of smart glasses and an augmented reality app on the driver's dashboard. Aira users can get information on the location of designated pick-up spots, estimated time of pick-up and fare, said Aira's Brittany Carambio, though no details about how the glasses would be distributed or their cost was released. Lyft has previously partnered with the National Association for the Deaf to offer visual information about rides.

Lyft is making it easier for the visually impaired to take a ride AR glasses will deliver information from the dashboard to the rider.

Lyft is working with assistive community Aira to make catching a ride easier for the visually impaired. That means wearable smart glasses and an augmented reality implement for their driver's dashboard that will deliver "essential ride information," according to a press release.

A Medium post from Aira explains things a bit further. "Upon request, Aira agents can now initiate information about the ride, including the location of designated pick-up spots, estimated time of pick-up and the estimated fare," Aira's Brittany Carambio writes. Further information includes the driver's name, vehicle information and walking directions for the last 50 feet to their destination, among other things.

This piggybacks onto the work Lyft has done with the National Association for the Deaf, which uses visual cues to alert drivers of new rides, rather than an audible notification. Other details like how these glasses will be distributed, or at what cost, weren't available as of press time.

It's also another way that Lyft is using its image of moral responsibility to subtly throw digs at its perpetually beleaguered competitor, Uber. Most recently, it was revealed that the company intentionally withheld evidence for its upcoming trial with Waymo. A lawyer's letter from a former employee detailed ways that Uber allegedly tried hacking its competitors and bugged meetings between transport regulators.