[nabs-l] NFB Car

Mon Apr 15 18:44:15 UTC 2013

It should be remembered, though, that this date is totally subject to
change. The technology is still in the planning stages, and could need
more testing before it is commercially available.

Chris Nusbaum

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 15, 2013, at 2:15 PM, Joshua Lester <JLester8462 at pccua.edu> wrote:

> Hi Hope!
> As I stated on another thread, I believe it's supposed to come out in 2016.
> Blessings, Joshua
> ________________________________________
> From: nabs-l [nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] on behalf of Hope Paulos [hope.paulos at gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, April 15, 2013 1:11 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NFB Car
>
> I'm assuming this interface is an prototype at the moment. Do you know when it will become commercially available?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Apr 15, 2013, at 2:08 PM, "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> Good afternoon everyone,
>>
>>   As mentioned previously the "NFB Car" is really not a car at all but a
>> technology interface that can be fitted in to any vehicle to allow it to be
>> driven by a blind person. This same technology with some modifications could
>> just as easily be included on a bus, a train, or even an airplane to enable
>> all of these vehicles to be controlled and operated by a blind person. And
>> there are the residual uses this technology will have to benefit the blind
>> and others over time. All of these points are discussed in detail in The
>> Braille Monitor, in several past national convention presentations and on
>> the Blind Driver Challenge Web Site. This should clear things up as to the
>> exact role our blind driver technology has compared with that of the Google
>> Car. Hopefully Google will incorporate our interface in to their car to
>> allow it to be driven by a blind person when the need arose.
>>
>> Peter Donahue
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Robert William Kingett" <kingettr at gmail.com>
>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, April 15, 2013 12:05 PM
>> Subject: [nabs-l] the NFB car VS the google car.
>>
>>
>> In reading this thread this morning, there's a lot of support for a car
>> that isn't even hinting at what stage in the development it's resting
>> on. Someone said that the car will be ready by 2016 but that can be
>> dismissed simply, because, the fact that the NFB are not even releasing
>> any information about the car and also about the technology because,
>> apparently, they don't want to be like apple and have their stuff taken.
>> If this is the case then how would you know that the technology will be
>> ready in 2016? It doesn't make sense. If there's no more press releases
>> about the subject, news coverage, updates on the email list, and yes
>> I've been subscribed for about a month, TV coverage, anything. It's as
>> if this car was like an amazing firework that faded away over time.so,
>> if there's no progress indicator as to how far the technology is then,
>> no, the car will not be ready by 2016. No one knows when this car will
>> be ready.
>>
>> As far as safety, I have a few things to point out. I've seen this car
>> in action. It's stunning, amazing, and epic, but it’s prone to a lot of
>> accidents simply by the sheer notion that it's human operated. Plus,
>> instead of having one piece of technology to worry about failing, the
>> driver as to be aware of everything. This fosters greater
>> responsibility, yes, but that comes bundled with an unseen price. For
>> those who don't know, I'll talk about the car. And the challenge and
>> weigh the consider and pros, my opinions, of course, based in
>> observation alone.
>>
>> The challengeis not the development of an autonomous car that drives a
>> blind person around; the “challenge” is to develop a nonvisual interface
>> for a car that can convey real-time information about driving conditions
>> to the blind so that we can use our own capacity to think and react to
>> interpret these data and maneuver a car safely.
>>
>> You know how on this list even some blind people were like oh my god I
>> don’t want to be alongside of a blind person driving! There could be
>> accidents with the Google car! Wouldn't this car present even more
>> accidents? The sheer idea of the Google car was to create polite
>> software that follows the rules of the road, keeping people safe. I
>> don’t want to or don't need to tell you all about the kind of technology
>> that this sports because I've posted many, many, many, many, many, many
>> news articles and videos on the subject as well as videos, even a really
>> long documentary on the car. In the NFB car, as I have said, the driver
>> has to be aware of everything… even, say pedestrian’s etc. machine can
>> act way faster than man. You know all those scenarios that people posted
>> here about worrying about people running out into the street, etc.? Did
>> you all not read the last news article I posted? The car stopped when a
>> squirrel skittered onto the street. With the NFB car that information
>> needs to be conveyed to the driver quickly enough for the driver to
>> react. The Google car reacts instantly, and it did. As I have said, the
>> NFB car’s drivers rely on information that HAS to be conveyed to them so
>> that they can make decisions, but what if not everything is conveyed to
>> them at a very crucial point, say, when a squirrel skitters out onto the
>> road. Amazingly, I got to wave my press pass like a drunken monkey to
>> have a close up look at the car.
>>
>> I also kept an eye out for good-looking black men but I didn't see any.
>> When will I ever find a beautiful husband? Sigh. I want to have someone
>> who looks like Denzel Washington! Ahem! Anyway…
>>
>> A vibrating seat, called SpeedStrip, told Riccobono whether to speed up
>> or slow down depending on what part of the seat rumbled. Gloves with
>> tiny vibrating motors, called DriveGrip, let Riccobono know what to do
>> with the steering wheel. What if one of these malfunctions but the rest
>> work fine, and someone runs out into the street before the driver can
>> react. With the Google car, this doesn't happen, correction, didn't.
>> Plus, as many news articles say, there's failsafe in place when
>> something malfunctions. The issue with the blind car, again, is the
>> reaction time of the driver and this is a huge issue because humans are
>> not the same.
>>
>> Now, onto actually driving. If the NFB car is prominent then there are a
>> whole slew of things that will have to be made. Driving tests
>> specifically, and also test courses would need to be built that
>> specifically test the adaptive technology in the car and a more unique
>> driving test specifically for the blind, not to mention a track. With
>> the Google car, this isn't needed. Sure, I’d believe you'd have to be
>> licensed to use the car but it will be a much more streamlined process.
>>
>> Also, what if you’re missing a glove, etc. you can't drive, can you?
>> Sighted people can just hop in their cars and go. the NFB car has to be
>> geared up to go. What if you’re disorganized and loose a glove? You have
>> everything else but you don't have all the technology needed to drive,
>> and you'd have to call a cab anyway. Okay maybe not just a glove but you
>> get my point right?
>>
>> Now, about any route, say, to school, In order to actually drive this
>> route, the blind driver needs to have a thorough understanding of their
>> immediate environment. You'd have to map out the route before you get
>> there. With the Google car, this isn't even an issue. You'd just hop in
>> the car and go. By the way, the best thing about having a car that
>> operates on cloud technology, you could actually control the car via
>> phone. You don't have to be in the car. This is incredible, meaning,
>> before you leave, you can input where you want to go as you’re sitting
>> on your couch.
>>
>> Something that's not in the Google car that I believe should be, is
>> something to tell you how long it will take you to get there. I don't
>> know why Google didn't think of that. For movies, etc. so you'd know
>> what time you'd have to leave, etc.
>>
>> The software that's on the Google car is cloud based, everything, so it
>> will update wirelessly. This is badass, if you ask me. Its maps will
>> update in real time, almost. This is also a bad thing, because, as of
>> now, if it's heavy snow or heavy rain then you can't drive the car. But
>> the software will be updated. How would you update the GPS in the NFB
>> car? Google is thinking about easy future implementation, hence having a
>> car that operates via the cloud and wireless technology. This will make
>> upgrades easier. You won’t have to get a new model unless the engine
>> fails or something like that.
>>
>> As of now there's no audible interface to start the car but there's a
>> keyboard command, shift X, if you were listening in the last video that
>> I posted about the BBC documentary involving the Google car. This
>> technology will accommodate the blind fully, with more work, because,
>> hell, a blind person has driven it! That shows me that Google is
>> definitely thinking about the blind driving this car in the future.
>>
>> There aren’t a lot of road laws that would need to be in place. With the
>> NFB car you'd have to take into drinking while driving, etc.,
>> accompanying the blindness. With the Google car you can be as drunk as
>> you want to be and drive back home or just sit back and let the car
>> drive you home. Laws wouldn't have to be made at all, really, unless for
>> underage drivers and such.
>>
>> Humans are greedy creatures. The Google car isn't pushy. To prove this,
>> I would say watch the videos about the Google car found below this huge
>> message that I'm writing out. Humans merge so they can pass others,
>> etc., thus, more roads would need to be built because the instinct of us
>> people is to just merge onto the next lane and pass. The Google car is
>> courteous, allowing people to pass, merging behind cars to free up road
>> space, etc. of course, you can already set the GPS to take you the
>> fastest route or… whatever option there is… laughing out loud.
>>
>> I want to talk about theft, just because absolutely no one has covered
>> this before. With the NFB car if someone steals equipment, you can't
>> drive it can you? You’d have to get it toad, all because you were
>> missing the seat strips. Yes, people steal weird stuff. It happens.
>> Also, if you’re going to a job interview, or something, where would you
>> put all that gear after you get in there? You forget, sighted people can
>> just hop in a car and go, thus stealing your car without even needing
>> any special gloves. Since the Google car, right now, starts with a
>> hotkey on a computer keyboard it wouldn't be hard to implement
>> fingerprint technology to make sure this doesn't happen. By the way, I
>> don’t want to sit for an extra 7 minutes making sure all my gear is on.
>>
>> This is just nit-picking, and doesn't make a logical argument but I'm
>> going to say it anyway. If I'm on a date with some gorgeous guy I want
>> to hold his hand while I'm driving with him. It’s cute and romantic. In
>> the NFB car I wouldn't be able to do that, thus, I’d be pouting all the
>> way to the restaurant. Seriously if you all, if you had a gorgeous man
>> sitting next to you wouldn’t you want to hold his hand? LOL. The Google
>> car allows me to do this with no problem. I want to touch my sweet
>> chocolate dang it! LOL. I am a young man, after all, I have needs! Ahem,
>> moving on.
>>
>> You won’t be able to control the NFB car via phone. With the Google car
>> you will. You can have it drop you off and then park, and then swig by
>> to pick you up. Since the car will operate via computer, there's no
>> question that will be a feature.
>>
>> What if you have to take a lot of equipment for your job? You can't eat
>> and drive in the NFB car, etc.
>>
>> I believe I have said everything that I want to say. For the rest, let
>> me repeat multiple times, watch the videos I posted about the BBC and
>> the blind driver driving the Google car. I've included them below, by
>> the way. I've posted enough news articles about the subject but if you
>> need more I'll send it along.
>>
>> I seriously don't understand why the NFB are not behind this. This is
>> the definition of a new kind of independence. The NFB shouldn’t be
>> trying to push their car out to people because they made their blind
>> drivable car. If the NFB is all about equality then we as NFB people,
>> and yes ACB people too, should back this car without question, not
>> trying to be celebrities because we have also made a car. The more
>> support from all caps, the sooner this will become a sweet, sweet
>> reality. See below for the videos.
>>
>> Google car. BBC video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlJU7GgBMmY
>>
>> Google's self-driving car. Cell phone shot.
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unS_WdnyDQY
>>
>> CNN test-drives Google’s "self-driving car"
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCpPPVvGqTY
>>
>> Google's Self-Driving Car Coming Soon? 2013.
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI2pRwcw8ew
>>
>> Blind man driving the Google car with audio description.
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peDy2st2XpQ
>>
>>
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