[nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?

Tue Oct 19 02:56:36 UTC 2010

Dear All,

AS a futurist, an engineer and a Blind former driver, I say that this is a 
great leap forward for Blind people.
As a engineer, who worked in the Space Program to take us to the Moon, a 
Special Materials Engineer who contributed to more than two top secret 
aircraft and a contributor to concept papers that have been used by DARPA. 
I think that we are moving in the right directions.
The space Program pushed the limits on engineering and what was possible.
The demands placed on hardware and software and materials are the reasons we 
have so many great things today.
In 1964, when I was still in high school.  I got a 6 transistor radio that 
was a little bigger than a walk man.  It was state of the art at the time. 
Today we can fit about half a million transistors on the head of a pin.
The spin offs have and still are driving businesses and industry today and 
new breakthroughs will continue to drive the limits to new horizons.
The effort to make a car that the blind can drive will lead to new products 
and inventions we have not even imagine yet.
How can having a car that the blind can drive or that can drive itself, be a 
bad thing and not worth our support?How about a ring you could wear that 
could sense the area in front of you and get you even more information about 
the level of the terrain in front of you such as changes in height, surface 
texture and make up, objects in the way, people, locations on the map and 
surrounding addresses and other information.
What about a head band that you could wear that transmits directly to your 
brain information about your surroundings and will let you measure to within 
a millimeter how far away things are from you and in what direction.  What 
if it gave you the ability to play catch or tennis with other sighted people 
on an equal footing.  What if you were able to sense things far beyond the 
range of the average sighted person.

The truth is we just don't know where our efforts will lead us today, but if 
the past is any example, it will be a far better place than we have now.
The future will be a great and bright one as I see it with these efforts the 
NFB is making.

David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer
Builder of the Lunar Rovers and the F-117 Stealth Fighter
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
To: <info at michaelhingson.com>; "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 7:58 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?

> I'm all for positive results! That's why I wondered if it would be 
> possible to join our knowledge with that of Google. I certainly am all for 
> making the dream come true too.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael Hingson" <info at michaelhingson.com>
> To: "'Beth Wright'" <beth.wright at mindspring.com>; "'NFB Talk Mailing 
> List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 7:25 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?
>
>
> The reality is that there are several projects underway concerning
> driverless and blind driver cars.  Let's not second guessing how the 
> project
> permitting blind drivers to take control will go.  If anyone has ideas 
> then
> please contribute.  Let's not talk about what we can't do.  This project 
> is
> all about dreaming and making the dream come true.
>
>
> The Michael Hingson Group, INC.
> "Speaking with Vision"
> Michael Hingson, President
> (415) 827-4084
> info at michaelhingson.com
> www.michaelhingson.com
>
>
> for info on the new KNFB Reader Mobile, visit:
> http://knfbreader.michaelhingson.com
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Beth Wright
> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 2:41 PM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?
>
> Hi, Sherry.
>
> I know it's been a while since we started this project, but just remember
> that the Virginia Tech team was the only one that would work with us, even
> though there were quite a few groups trying to develop self-driving cars.
> Maybe if this one works out, Google might be more interested.
>
> Beth Wright
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 5:32 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?
>
>
>>I have people in my life who drive. I know how much they have to
>>concentrate on to get from point A to point B. I just don't understand how
>>tactile and auditory feedback is going to help us focus on maybe 15
>>different things at once. A car that is programmed and takes you from 
>>point
>
>>A to point B makes a lot more sense to me. It is a car that could appeal 
>>to
>
>>all! Again, I think working with Google would be a real plus for NFB. But
>>what do I know and if being first is really the most important thing then
>>....
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Bryan Schulz" <b.schulz at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 5:24 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?
>>
>>
>>> because the nfb wants to be first and wants the credit
>>> Bryan Schulz
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
>>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 3:56 PM
>>> Subject: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?
>>>
>>>
>>>>I really think this is more what we are looking for. This is a car
>>>>"anyone" could "drive". Google has lots of resources. Why don't we jump
>>>>on their bandwagon?
>>>>
>>>> Sherri
>>>>
>>>> Google is testing cars that drive themselves  Google announced Sunday
>>>>   that it has developed cars that drive themselves
>>>> automatically in traffic, and that it has been testing them on the
>>>> streets of California for months. It might seem like an unusual project
>>>> for Google, but it  could actually have big benefits.
>>>> We're not just talking about cars running Google Android.
>>>> This is the stuff of science fiction. The only accident that has
>>>> occurred so far: One of the cars was rear-ended by a driver at a stop
>>>> light. Human error!
>>>>
>>>> The vehicles have been tested on 140,000 miles of California road, from
>>>> Silicon Valley to Santa Monica.
>>>>
>>>> Each car is manned during the tests. One person sits in the driver's
>>>> seat, ready to take control of the vehicle instantly by grabbing the
>>>> wheel or touch the brake should something go wrong with the system. The
>>>> person in the
>>>> passenger's seat is an engineer who monitors the software operations on
>>>> a
>>>> computer.
>>>>
>>>> Google (Google) hired engineers who previously participated in
>>>> competitions and races involving automated cars -- important turning
>>>> points in the development of the technology, which has been coming into
>>>> its own since around 2005 according to The New York Times.
>>>>
>>>> If your first concern is one of safety, Google would argue that you're
>>>> going about it all wrong.
>>>>
>>>> Safety is one of the the project's purposes. Google believes that the
>>>> technology could nearly half the number of automobile-related deaths
>>>> because computers are supposedly
>>>> better  at driving than humans in the right circumstances.
>>>>
>>>> There are other hypothetical pluses, too. The vehicles' instant 
>>>> reaction
>>>> time and 360-degree awareness would allow them to drive closer together
>>>> on the highway than humans can, reducing traffic congestion. They could
>>>> be more
>>>> careful when operating the gas, reducing fuel consumption.
>>>>
>>>> But the biggest benefit for Google would be the hour or so of daily
>>>> commute time the car owner would save. Instead of driving, he or she
>>>> could either be productive or entertained in the vehicle, doing work on
>>>> a wireless
>>>> Internet (Internet) connection or watching television.
>>>>
>>>> Google doesn't say it explicitly, but TechCrunch was
>>>> quick to note that this time could be spent using Google products and
>>>> absorbing
>>>> Google-run advertising.
>>>>
>>>> The most optimistic projections put this technology at least eight 
>>>> years
>>>> away from market, though. Legal hassles are among the myriad problems;
>>>> all of the current traffic laws assume that a human driver is present 
>>>> in
>
>>>> the vehicle
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
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