[Home-on-the-range] FW: [nfbcs] Fwd: Article from Minneapolis Star-Tribune Science And Technology 2010 07 02
Susan Tabor
souljourner at sbcglobal.net
Wed Jul 14 01:52:52 UTC 2010
Thanks for passing this along, Susie!
Cheers,
Susan
-----Original Message-----
From: home-on-the-range-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:home-on-the-range-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Stanzel, Susan -
Kansas City, MO
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 2:35 PM
To: NFB of Kansas Internet Mailing List
Subject: [Home-on-the-range] FW: [nfbcs] Fwd: Article from Minneapolis
Star-Tribune Science And Technology 2010 07 02
Hi Listers,
I just found this article about our car and thought I would forward it to
you.
Susie
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of David Andrews
Sent: Sunday, July 04, 2010 1:29 PM
To: nfb-announce at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfbcs] Fwd: Article from Minneapolis Star-Tribune Science And
Technology 2010 07 02
>From: NFB-NEWSLINE Online <nfbnewsline at nfb.org>
>To: David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>
>Subject: Article from Minneapolis Star-Tribune
>Science And Technology 2010 07 02
>Date: Sun,
> 4 Jul 2010 00:51:42 -0400 (EDT)
>
>That driver must be blind! Someday he may be;
>group to show high-tech car the blind can
>drive By KEN THOMAS , Associated
>Press WASHINGTON - Could a blind person
>drive a car? Researchers are trying to make that
>far-fetched notion a reality. The National
>Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech plan
>to demonstrate a prototype vehicle next year
>equipped with technology that helps a blind
>person drive a car independently. The
>technology, called "nonvisual interfaces," uses
>sensors to let a blind driver maneuver a car
>based on information transmitted to him about
>his surroundings: whether another car or object
>is nearby, in front of him or in a neighboring
>lane. Advocates for the blind consider it a
>"moon shot," a goal similar to President John F.
>Kennedy's pledge to land a man on the moon. For
>many blind people, driving a car long has been
>considered impossible. But researchers hope the
>project could revolutionize mobility and
>challenge long-held assumptions about
>limitations. We're exploring areas that have
>previously been regarded as unexplorable," said
>Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National
>Federation of the Blind. We're moving away from
>the theory that blindness ends the capacity of
>human beings to make contributions to society.
>The Baltimore-based organization was announcing
>its plans for the vehicle demonstration at a
>news conference Friday in Daytona Beach, Fla.
>Maurer first talked about building an automobile
>that the blind could drive about a decade ago
>when he launched the organization's research
>institute. Some people thought I was crazy and
>they thought, 'Why do you want us to raise money
>for something that can't be done? Others thought
>it was a great idea," Maurer said. Some people
>were incredulous. Others thought the idea was
>incredible. The vehicle has its roots in
>Virginia Tech's 2007 entry into the DARPA Grand
>Challenge, a competition for driverless vehicles
>funded by the Defense Department's research arm.
>The university's team won third place for a
>self-driving vehicle that used sensors to
>perceive traffic, avoid crashing into other cars
>and objects and run like any other vehicle.
>Following their success, Virginia Tech's team
>responded to a challenge from the National
>Federation of the Blind to help build a car that
>could be driven by a blind person. Virginia Tech
>first created a dune buggy as part of a
>feasibility study that used sensor lasers and
>cameras to act as the eyes of the vehicle. A
>vibrating vest was used to direct the driver to
>speed up, slow down or make turns. The blind
>organization was impressed by the results and
>urged the researchers to keep pushing. The
>results will be demonstrated next January on a
>modified Ford Escape sport utility vehicle at
>the Daytona International Speedway before the
>Rolex 24 race. The latest vehicle will use
>nonvisual interfaces to help a blind driver
>operate the car. One interface, called
>DriveGrip, uses gloves with vibrating motors on
>areas that cover the knuckles. The vibrations
>signal to the driver when and where to turn.
>Another interface, called AirPix, is a tablet
>about half the size of a sheet of paper with
>multiple air holes, almost like those found on
>an air hockey game. Compressed air coming out of
>the device helps inform the driver of his or her
>surroundings, essentially creating a map of the
>objects around a vehicle. It would show whether
>there's another vehicle in a nearby lane or an
>obstruction in the road. A blind person, who has
>not yet been chosen, will drive the vehicle on a
>course near the famed Daytona race track and
>attempt to simulate a typical driving
>experience. Dr. Dennis Hong, a mechanical
>engineering professor at Virginia Tech who leads
>the research, said the technology could someday
>help a blind driver operate a vehicle but could
>also be used on conventional vehicles to make
>them safer or on other applications. Advocates
>for the blind say it will take time before
>society accepts the potential of blind drivers
>and that the safety of the technology will need
>to be proven through years of testing. But more
>than anything, they say it's part of a broader
>mission to change the way people perceive the
>blind. Mark Riccobono, executive director of the
>NFB's Jernigan Institute, said when he walks
>down the street with his 3-year-old son, many
>people might think he, as a blind person, is
>being guided by his son. The idea that a
>3-year-old takes care of me stems from what they
>think about blindness," Riccobono said. That
>will change when people see that we can do
>something that they thought was
>impossible." ___ Online: National
>Federation of the
>Blind: http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Default.asp (c)
>2010 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. .
>
>This article is provided to you as a courtesy of
>NFB-NEWSLINE(r) Online for your sole use. The
>content of this E-mail is protected under
>copyright law, and is not to be distributed in
>any manner to others; infringement of our
>non-dissemination agreement is strictly prohibited.
>
>Allowing someone to have access to this material
>is in violation of the Terms of Use agreement
>that you electronically signed when you signed
>up for NFB-NEWSLINE(r) Online. Please do not
>forward this E-mail or its attachments to any
>other person or disseminate it in any manner.
>
>Thank you.
>
>The NFB-NEWSLINE(r) Team.
David Andrews: dandrews at visi.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dandrews920
_______________________________________________
nfbcs mailing list
nfbcs at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nfbcs:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/susan.stanzel%40kcc.u
sda.gov
_______________________________________________
Home-on-the-range mailing list
Home-on-the-range at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Home-on-the-range:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org/souljourner%4
0sbcglobal.net
More information about the Home-on-the-Range
mailing list