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

David Evans drevans at bellsouth.net
Tue Oct 19 17:27:25 UTC 2010


Dear all,
  I can tell you that the NFb was interested in this idea before the idea of 
cars that could drive themselves was really on the front burner.
The concept of a blind person being able to drive a car themselves is just 
"the vehicle" that is being used, but the reality is the spin offs that will 
come from the research that makes the vehicle work.
It is not just a car that the blind can drive that is the goal.  It is all 
of the stuff that makes that possible and how it can be used and adapted to 
other uses with products that never existed before.

It is Because of the things that have to be worked out and invented to make 
the car drivable by a blind person, that will advance other applications and 
spin offs will happen the direction and ramifications we can not yet 
foresee.
If the past is an indication, such as the Space Program was, this will lead 
to an explosion in new technologies and business that is the real reward.
You have to look beyond just the surface of a car that the blind can drive. 
It is all of that  stuff underneath and what it can and will inspire that is 
what we are really after.
Radar was a spin off of early radio and came about when someone notice that 
something was reflecting the signal back to the source when an airplane flew 
pass the transmitter.  later some noticed that a candy bar melted in their 
pocket when they got to close to the transmitter.  This observation spun off 
the microwave oven.  Changing the frequency range in to the microwave range 
made the oven cook things and the use of microwaves was also found to 
improve radio and TV transmission too.
Now we have the cell phone, HD TV and radio.  We can even use microwaves to 
measure distances, speed and directions..  This made G.P.S. possible.  In 
the future microwaves will be used to help power Ion drive space engines 
that will take us to the planets and the stars.
No one knows just what powerful spin offs will come from the technologies 
needed to let a blind person drive a car.  This is pure research, but the 
potential for new gains is tremendous and worth the investment.

David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Heim" <john at johnheim.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?


> The only thing I'd question is the timing of what the NFB is doing. Like I 
> said when I first heard about the Blind Driver Challenge, it depends on 
> how much of its resources the NFB is expending on the BDC. With the 
> technology moving so fast in another direction, the NFB might be 
> encouraging people to develop a better buggy whip. For example, in the 
> Blind Driver Challenge, it was a big deal that a blind person piloted  a 
> car around a track. But a driverless car can do that no sweat. On the 
> other hand, its not entirely a wasted effort in that people are going to 
> ask "What happens if google's computer goes down and the driver is blind?" 
> The NFB is developing an answer to that question. The only thing is, the 
> answer today will probably be nothing like the real answer if this thing 
> ever actually happens.  I'm not sure that really matters though. Its more 
> of a PR issue than anything else.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael D. Barber" <michael.nfbi at gmail.com>
> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 6:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?
>
>
>>I think every project has its rightful place, whether it be the NFB 
>>Project
>> or the Google project.  Let's keep a very open mind here because we're 
>> all
>> going to be the winners eventually.  Frankly,  I'm intrigued by  both
>> projects because of the new evolving technology breakthroughs that will
>> result for all.  This is not NFB versus Google or NFB versus anything 
>> else.
>>
>> Michael Barber
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 3:23 AM
>> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] The Google Car, what do you think?
>>
>> yes, this is also more like the personal rapid transit PRT vehicles that
>> they are beginning to test and use at various air ports. This seems much
>> more practical than the NFB project.
>> Chuck
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
>> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 1:56 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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