[nabs-l] update on vehicle accessible for the blind

[Teal Bloodworth]

    Several blind people were able to get behind the wheel of a new
high-tech vehicle designed by Virginia Tech engineering students.

Twenty blind people took turns maneuvering the retrofitted dune buggy
Friday in a parking lot at the University of Maryland. The test drive
capped a National Federation for the Blind summer camp for 200 blind
youth from across the country.


Virginia Tech was the only university to take on a 2004 challenge from
the federation to build a vehicle that could let blind people drive.

The buggy they designed uses a laser sensor to figure out the road
ahead. A special vibrating vest worn by drivers communicates speed and
warns when to stop. And a headset relays voice commands signaling
which way to turn.

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