[Nfbf-l] {Disarmed} Coverage for Blind Driver Challenge®

Sun Jan 30 21:59:25 UTC 2011

Judy, Thank You for all you do with blind advocacy! We also have to consider 
how quickly we split an atom and created nuclear energy. None of the general 
public at that time even thought that was a possibility as well! This is 
something that WILL make it in our kids future and all of us must start to 
realize what we can do for our fblind community's future with the technology 
we have available and the technological genious's we have working with us! I 
still say that all of this effort from the University  of Virginia and the 
National NFB  is nothing short of remarkable!  All the hope and dreams of so 
many young people and others after witnessing yesterdays drivers challenge, 
prooved we us all how exciting our future will be! Your friend in the cause, 
Kirk

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Judith Hamilton" <jrhamilton51 at earthlink.net>
To: "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 4:44 PM
Subject: RE: [Nfbf-l] {Disarmed} Coverage for Blind Driver Challenge®

Sherri & Kirk:

Thank you for all the descriptive posts.  I managed to catch some of the
streaming yesterday.  From the bits I heard, it was truly fascinating.  I
hope that everyone, regardless of how you feel about this issue, will take
a breath, think, and remember how far we have come in 50 years.  Who would
have thought that during the Kennedy Administration (1961-1963) that the
challenge was thrown to NASA and our country, which then also included
universities, to attempt space flight and landing on the moon.  The
technology that came out of all those years of research and development
benefit us all today.  What an inspiration for our youth, today.  They are
our future.  Why not give them something to hope for and work toward?  It
was an amazing first step in a long road of steps.  Glad I was here to
share in that moment in my own way, and glad you and the others could
wittness it also.
Judy

> [Original Message]
> From: Sherri B <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
> To: NFB Florida <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Date: 1/30/2011 11:00:06 AM
> Subject: [Nfbf-l] {Disarmed} Coverage for Blind Driver Challenge®
>
> Here's an article from the Daytona Beach News journal! I think it's very
> good.
>
> Technology helps blind driver lead lap - Racing
> a.. Sunday, January 30, 2011
>
> No driver racing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona could have elicited louder
> screams from one group of fans than Mark Riccobono.
>
> Unknown to thousands of race fans pouring into the Speedway on Saturday
> morning, Riccobono became a hero to 400 members of the National
Federation
> of the Blind. They were there from all over the country for one reason
> only -- to witness Riccobono become the first blind driver to take the
wheel
> in a solo trip on the track.
>
> Several federation members compared his demonstration to the first United
> States space flight in 1961.
>
> "He's our Alan Shepard," said GaryWunder, editor of the Braille Monitor,
the
> federation magazine. "We've been looking forward to this for a long time."
>
> For the blind, driving a car represents freedom and independence, things
> other drivers often take for granted.
>
> The federation challenged the nation's universities to take the challenge
of
> developing non-visual technology that would allow a blind person to drive
> independently. One team accepted, a group of students at Virginia Tech,
> working under the direction of Dennis Hong, director of the Robotics and
> Mechanisms Laboratory. The equipment was placed in a Ford Escape Hybrid.
>
> Riccobono directs technology, research and education for the Federation's
> Jernigan Institute in Baltimore.
>
> To get behind the wheel, he put on gloves that send vibrating signals
along
> his fingers to tell him when to turn and sat on a cushion that vibrated
> along his legs to tell him when to brake or accelerate. He drove the
inside
> horseshoe on the track and in a tactical demonstration, dodged several
boxes
> thrown in front of his vehicle and passed a van.
>
> The long-term implications of the technology were simply mind-boggling
for
> many cheering in the bleachers.
>
> "This means a lot more to us than just the driving," Wunder said. "If we
can
> get all the information that's necessary to drive, what other things will
we
> be able to do?"
>
> "It's incredible," said Randy Phifer, of Overland Park, Kansas, a
federation
> member listening to the play-by-play over the infield speakers. "I told
my
> fellow parishioners at home that I'd be back to pick them up," Phifer
joked.
>
> For college student Mika Baugh of Indiana, it was "pretty neat."
>
> Owning and driving her own car would mean she "wouldn't have to wait for
the
> bus in the freezing cold.
>
> "You can't even imagine what blind and sighted people will be able to do
> with this technology someday," she said.
>
> Sabrina Deaton, president of the Daytona Beach chapter of the federation,
> lost her ability to drive almost 11 years ago, a victim of macular
> degeneration.
>
> Driving was "one of the most difficult things to give up," she said. "It
was
> giving up my independence."
>
> The ability to drive opens up opportunities for education and employment,
> she said. "And, just to be able to hop into the car and take a Sunday
> drive."
>
> If the research pace continues, Riccobono said the technology could be
> available for general use in just five years. Federation officials said
they
> couldn't estimate how much the technology would cost.
>
> Riccobono said other challenges remain, especially convincing sighted
> drivers that it would be safe to share the road with blind drivers.
>
>   0Share31Email5
> Copyright © 2011 The Daytona Beach News-Journal
> Sherri Brun, NFBF Secretary and Newsline® Coordinator
> Vice-president NFB Greater Orlando Chapter
> E-mail: flmom2006 at gmail.com
> www.nfbnewsline.org
> http://www.nfbflorida.org
> http://nfbfgoc.org
>
> "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John
> Lennon
>
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