[nabs-l] Blind can take wheel with new vehicle

[pajohns1 at vt.edu]

        If these two were the first blind people to drive the vehicle then I 
am probably the first "blindstudent" to drive the vehicle.  I hope the NFB 
doesn't over hype the car because while I agree it was liberating to drive 
on a closed-circuit there is still an incredible amount of work that needs 
to be done before real world testing can begin.

        That said, I had a blast behind the wheel,

Patrick
@Virginia Tech

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sarah Alawami" <marrie12 at gmail.com>
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 4:07 AM
Subject: [nabs-l] Blind can take wheel with new vehicle


>I did voat against this in 2007 and I still do. Are you surprised?
>
>
>
>
>
> Begin msg
>
>
>
> Mark Riccobono, executive director of the National Federation of the 
> Blind's
> Jernigan Institute, drives the Virginia Tech Blind Driver Challenge 
> vehicle
> through an obstacle course of traffic cones on a campus  parking lot. In 
> the
> passenger seat is Greg Jannaman, who led the  student team within the
> mechanical engineering department during the  past year, and is monitoring
> the software of the vehicle. Credit:
>
> Steven Mackay, Virginia Tech
>
>
>
> A student team in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering is  providing
> the blind with an opportunity many never thought possible:
>
> The opportunity to drive.
>
>
>
> A retrofitted four-wheel dirt buggy developed by the Blind Driver
> Challenge team (http://www.me.vt.edu/blinddriver/) from Virginia  Tech's
> Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory uses laser range finders, an  instant
> voice command interface and a host of other innovative,  cutting-edge
> technology to guide blind drivers as they steer, brake, and accelerate.
>
> Although in the early testing stage, the National Federation of the  Blind
> -- which spurred the project -- considers the vehicle a major 
> breakthrough
> for independent living of the visually impaired.
>
>
>
> "It was great!" said Wes Majerus, of Baltimore, the first blind person  to
> drive the buggy on a closed course at the Virginia Tech campus this 
> summer.
> Majerus is an access technology specialist with the National  Federation 
> of
> the Blind's Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, a research  and training
> institute dedicated to developing technologies and  services to help the
> blind achieve independence.
>
>
>
> Majerus called his drive a liberating experience, adding that he drove
> before on Nebraska farm roads with his father as a guide in the  passenger
> seat.
>
>
>
> Sitting inside the vehicle, a blind driver can turn the steering  wheel,
> stop and accelerate by following data from a computing unit  that uses
> sensory information from the laser range finder serving as  the 'eyes' of
> the driver, in addition to a combination of voice  commands and a 
> vibrating
> vest as guides. A member of the Virginia Tech  student team sat next to
> Majerus in the passenger seat to monitor the system's software operations.
>
>
>
> "It's a great first step," Majerus added. "As far as the differences
> between human instructions and those given by the voice in the Blind 
> Driver
> Challenge car, the car's instructions are very precise. You use  the
> technology to act on the environment -- the driving course -- in a  very
> orderly manner. In some cases, the human passenger will be vague,  "turn
> left" -- does that mean just a small turn to the left, or are we  going 
> for
> large amounts of turn?"
>
>
>
> Also driving the vehicle was Mark Riccobono, also of Baltimore, the
> executive director of the Jernigan Institute, who also is blind. He 
> called
> his test drive historic. "This is sort of our going to the moon project,"
>
> he said
>
>
>
> In 2004 Jernigan Institute challenged university research teams to 
> develop
> a vehicle that would one day allow the blind to drive.
>
> Virginia Tech was the only university in the nation to accept the
> nonprofit's call two years later, said Dennis Hong, director of the
> Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, part of the Virginia Tech mechanical
> engineering department.
>
> The National Federation of the Blind provided a $3,000 grant to launch 
> the
> project.
>
>
>
> "I thought it would be a very rewarding project, helping the blind,"
>
> said Hong, the current faculty adviser on the project. "We are not  only
> excited about the vehicle itself, but more than that, we are  excited 
> about
> the potential of the many spin-off technologies from  this project that 
> can
> be used for helping the blind in so many ways."
>
>
>
> The team will bring the Blind Driver Challenge vehicle to the National
> Federation of the Blind's Youth Slam summer camp event held July 26 
> through
> Aug. 1 in College Park, Md. There, the team hopes to have  teenagers who
> would be obtaining their driver's licenses, but cannot  because of their
> blindness, drive the buggy.
>
>
>
> Wesley Majerus, an access technology specialist with the National
> Federation of the Blind's Jernigan Institute, finishes driving the 
> Virginia
> Tech Blind Driver Challenge vehicle around a roped-off  driving course on 
> a
> campus parking lot. The experience, he said, was liberating.
>
>
>
> Youth participants also are expected to remote control drive miniature
> cars. Additionally, the car is expected to ride in a National  Federation 
> of
> the Blind-sponsored parade in Washington D.C.
>
>
>
> "I most look forward to learning as much as I can from these bright  young
> students," said Greg Jannaman, who led the Virginia Tech student  team in
> his senior year and graduated in May with a bachelor's degree  in 
> mechanical
> engineering. "Blind students from across the nation  apply to be selected 
> to
> attend this summer camp. While we are there to  provide an educational
> experience for them, I can only imagine the  invaluable feedback and fresh
> new ideas that they will provide in return."
>
>
>
> Jannaman is excited about the vehicle's success. "There wasn't a  moment's
> hesitation with any of our blind drivers, whereas  blind-folded sighted
> drivers weren't as quick to let go of their  preconceptions," said 
> Jannaman
> of Hendersonville, Tenn. "The blind  drivers actually performed better 
> than
> their sighted counterparts. An  overwhelming sense of accomplishment
> overcame me as I simply rode  along while Wes and Mark successfully
> navigated the driving course without my assistance."
>
>
>
> Early models of the Blind Driver Challenge vehicle relied more on
> technologies for fully autonomous vehicles, previously developed by
> Virginia Tech mechanical engineering students as part of the DARPA  Urban
> Challenge. The student team redesigned the vehicle so that the  blind
> motorist has complete control of the driving process, as any  sighted 
> driver
> would.
>
>
>
> This change in approach led to new challenges, including how to
> effectively convey the high bandwidth of information from the laser 
> sensors
> scanning the vehicle's surrounding environment to the driver  fast enough
> and accurate enough to allow safe driving. As a result,  the team 
> developed
> non-visual interface technologies, including a  vibrating vest for 
> feedback
> on speed, a click counter steering wheel  with audio cues, spoken commands
> for directional feedback, and a  unique tactile map interface that 
> utilizes
> compressed air to provide  information about the road and obstacles
> surrounding the vehicle.
>
>
>
> Riccobono knows of mock ups and non-working "blind driver car" set-ups
> from the past, but says this is the first working vehicle to put the 
> blind
> and visually impaired in control of the steering wheel. "Blind  people 
> have
> brains, the capacity to make decisions," he said. "Blind  people want to
> live independent lives, why would they not want to drive?"
>
>
>
> Even once the technology is perfected, laws now barring the blind from
> driving and public perception must be changed, Riccobono said. "This  is 
> the
> piece that we know will be the most difficult," said Riccobono,  adding 
> that
> the car must be near-perfected before the National  Federation of the 
> Blind
> can truly push the car to law-makers and the  general public. He said this
> effort will take millions of dollars in development.
>
>
>
> The 2009-10 student team already is planning major changes to the
> technology, including replacing the dirt buggy vehicle with a fully
> electric car commonly used by traffic officers in downtown city centers.
>
> The all-electric vehicle would reduce the vibration which can cause
> problems to the laser sensor, and it will provide clean electric power 
> for
> the computing units and that is better for the environment.
>
>
>
> Source: Virginia Tech (news : web)
>
>
>
>
>
> Sarah Alawami
>
> msn: chellist at hotmail.com
>
> website: http://www.marrie.org
>
> twitter: http://twitter.com/marrie1
>
>
>
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