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

[Sherri B]

I am with you Judy and thought it was a monumental event! Let's watch and 
see where it goes!
----- 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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