[nabs-l] Fwd: Congressman Mica to Participate in NFB Blind Driver Challenge(tm)

[David Andrews]

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>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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>CONTACT:
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>Chris Danielsen
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>Director of Public Relations
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>National Federation of the Blind
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>(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
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>(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
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><mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
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>Congressman Mica to Participate in NFB Blind Driver Challenge™
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>Washington, D.C. (January 27, 2011): The 
>National Federation of the Blind announced today 
>that Congressman John Mica, who represents 
>Florida’s Seventh Congressional District and 
>chairs the House Transportation and 
>Infrastructure Committee, will participate in 
>the demonstration of a vehicle that can be 
>driven by the blind.  The Congressman will be 
>present along with NFB officials and other 
>dignitaries when a modified Ford Escape equipped 
>with nonvisual technology allowing a blind 
>person to drive it independently is demonstrated 
>as part of pre-race activities leading up to the 
>Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway 
>on January 29.  Congressman Mica will drive the 
>vehicle onto the course and present the keys to 
>a blind driver, who will then drive the road course alone.
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>Congressman Mica said: “I am pleased to 
>participate in this historic moment, which will 
>shatter misconceptions about blind citizens and 
>show the world exciting new technologies that 
>will enhance the quality of living for many 
>Americans.  I have no doubt that this event is a 
>milestone in revolutionary technological change 
>that will dramatically improve transportation 
>and safety in the twenty-first century.”
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>Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National 
>Federation of the Blind, said: “We are extremely 
>pleased that Congressman Mica is joining us for 
>this historic occasion.  It is fitting that the 
>Chairman of the House Transportation and 
>Infrastructure Committee will participate in the 
>demonstration of technology that will ultimately 
>benefit sighted drivers as well as the blind.”
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>The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
>Institute­the only research and training 
>facility on blindness operated by the blind­has 
>challenged universities, technology developers, 
>and other interested innovators to establish NFB 
>Blind Driver Challenge™ (BDC) teams, in 
>collaboration with the NFB, to build interface 
>technologies that will empower blind people to 
>drive a car independently.  The purpose of the 
>NFB Blind Driver Challenge™ is to stimulate the 
>development of nonvisual interface 
>technology.  The Virginia Tech/TORC team, under 
>the direction of Dr. Dennis Hong, Director of 
>the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at 
>Virginia Tech., is the only team that has 
>accepted the challenge.  The team is currently 
>working with the National Federation of the 
>Blind on the second-generation prototype vehicle 
>to integrate new and improved versions of the 
>first-generation nonvisual interface technologies into a Ford Escape.
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>For more information about the NFB, please visit 
><http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org.  For our 
>digital news release about the Blind Driver 
>Challenge™ and the debut of the BDC car at the 
>Rolex 24, including audio and video clips for 
>television and radio, please visit 
><http://www.digitalnewsrelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit>www.DigitalNewsRelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit. 
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>About the National Federation of the Blind
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>With more than 50,000 members, the National 
>Federation of the Blind is the largest and most 
>influential membership organization of blind 
>people in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 
>"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" 
>/>United States.  The NFB improves blind 
>people’s lives through advocacy, education, 
>research, technology, and programs encouraging 
>independence and self-confidence.  It is the 
>leading force in the blindness field today and 
>the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 
>2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of 
>the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research 
>and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
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