[Blindtlk] why is it important tojoinanorganization ofthe blind?

Sat Jan 21 02:40:50 UTC 2012

David:

I grant everything you say below. I know the military is hot-to-trot on
autonomous vehicles. However, if you've ever been involved with a military
convoy, you know that they pretty-much make their own rules, driving through
stop-lights and yield signs and just daring people to get out of their way.
That's frankly a lot easier than cars having to make a plethora of decisions
involving the unexpected on the nation's highways and byways. I don't think
we'll come anywhere near the 2015 target.

And yes, I've read "Wired for War". While much progress on automated weapons
systems and vehicles has been made, we're a long way from fool-proof
systems. I remember one person quoted in the book saying something to the
effect that with current software practices and knowledge, the first thing a
military robot will do is go insane when it's fired up! We haven't mastered
the complexities of robot interaction yet, especially involving the
unexpected.

That said, I acknowledge that if one thinks *too* far ahead and sets the
thought in stone, one is liable to make serious errors, if for no other
reason than that the situation changes. Nevertheless, I still firmly believe
that we have to start thinking about the other problems lest we end up in a
situation wherein the technology comeds upon us and we haven't even begun to
plan for its implementation.

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of David Evans
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 9:19 AM
To: gwunder at earthlink.net; Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important tojoinanorganization ofthe
blind?

Dear Gary,

When I was in training for the Olympics, back in 1967-8, my coach reminded 
me that you take it one hurdle at a time and don't get ahead of yourself.
If you are thinking about the 10 TH. hurdle and not the one in front of you,

you may wind up knocking hurdles down, but losing speed and time in the 
process.   Within a hurdle race, where there are say 10 hurdles to get past,

there are really 10 smaller, separate races that you must run and it is this

combination of small short races that leads to victory at the finish line.
If you crash into the hurdles, instead of getting over them cleanly and 
neatly, the race is going to either be lost or take more time than you want 
it too.

I am an engineer also and have contributed concept papers to both NASA and 
DARPA in the past.
I have written about automated cars and what we can expect to see in the 
future.
Cars that can drive themselves are already here and it is the Military that 
is pushing the hardest for them.
They are pushing to have autonomist vehicles in military service by the year

2015.
Vehicles in the future will communicate with each other wirelessly and will 
know just where each of the other vehicles around them is planning to go and

will be able to coordinate their movements to avoid hitting each other.
Chevy has already built and demonstrated one of these cars 2 years ago at 
the Detroit Auto show and Al Roper, of the "Today show"  took it for a drive

around the parking lot with no one at the wheel.
Cars will be able to drive themselves and likely have the option to let a 
human driver drive them, if they want to, and that could and likely would 
include a Blind driver with special sensor packages in place.
The question is why would you drive the car yourself if the car can do it 
for you?  For your own enjoyment?  For your own ego?  Just because you can?
The grand hope is that the automated cars will be safer and less prone to 
accidents and safe human lives.
A military commander will be able to order a soldier to take or program a 
number of vehicles for a mission and then either ride along or monitor from 
a distance the formation as it goes about is work.  If a attack takes place 
the formation can defend itself, or run away and meet later at a set point 
that is safe.  No humans are in danger lost or captured.

As with most things dealing with the future, what we envision and what we 
get are sometimes two different things.  Sometimes they are better than we 
thought and sometimes they will leave something to be desired, we shall have

to wait and see.

David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.

Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer
Builder of the Lunar Rovers and the F-117 Stealth Fighter

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Wunder" <GWunder at earthlink.net>
To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 1:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important tojoinanorganization ofthe 
blind?

> One other unanswerable question at this point: If being able to drive 
> opens
> new employment possibilities, will rehab funds be used to subsidize the
> purchase and production of cars the blind can drive? How many of us
> expressed doubt about whether the first Braille notetakers would be funded
> given their voice competitors cost $900 and they cost $4,000. Braille,
> however, provided sufficient benefits to justify the extra cost. Again, we
> just don't know.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 11:57 AM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important to joinanorganization ofthe
> blind?
>
> Unanswerable question as we are not clairvoyant.
>
> Mike Freeman
>
>
> On Jan 19, 2012, at 8:04, "Bryan Schulz" <b.schulz at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> hi,
>>
>> if it is ever actually mass produced, will you or the average blind 
>> person
> be able to add  the equivalent of a house payment on top of your current
> situation if it is even legally possible to drive?
>> Bryan Schulz
>>
>>
>>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>>  From: Marion Gwizdala
>>  To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>>  Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 3:46 AM
>>  Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important to join anorganization ofthe
> blind?
>>
>>
>>  Bryan,
>>      Well, can you please tell us what that difference would be?
> Furthermore,
>>  the comment you make asserts we are "waiting" for this technology. The
> fact
>>  of the matter is that we are not waiting for it, we are creating it. In
>>  spite of the fact that a blind person has already demonstrated that
> driving
>>  a vehicle independently is not only a dream but a reality, it seems as 
>> if
>
>>  you don't believe the objective evidence. By the way, the footage of a
> man
>>  walking on the moon was filmed in the desert in Arizona.
>>
>>  Fraternally yours,
>>  Marion Gwizdala
>>
>>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>>  From: "Bryan Schulz" <b.schulz at sbcglobal.net>
>>  To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>  Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 9:06 PM
>>  Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important to join an organization 
>> ofthe
>
>>  blind?
>>
>>
>>> hi,
>>>
>>> there's a difference in shooting for goals and waiting for pie in the 
>>> sky
>
>>> technology.
>>>
>>> Bryan Schulz
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: Sheila Leigland
>>> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 7:47 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important to join an organization 
>>> ofthe
>
>>> blind?
>>>
>>>
>>> Hello all, I've heard about doses of reality. If I and my husband had
>>> bought in to this kind of logic, we never would have gone to college,
>>> gotten married, raised our son, and worked. If I had listened to the
>>> advice of everyone we wouldn't have taken ourselves and our son to the
> nfb
>>> convention in 1996 from Montana by train and went to disneyland without
>>> sighted assistance our son was eight at the time so although he could 
>>> see
>
>>> we were very much in control of the situation. Dreams and goals can be
>>> crushed by to much so called reality. It doesn't mean that we don't try
> to
>>> plan out things but we aren't afraid to try.
>>>
>>> sheila leigland
>>>
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> et
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>>
>>
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