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<DIV dir=ltr class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left><FONT size=2
face=Tahoma>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> Freeh, Jessica
[mailto:JFreeh@nfb.org]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, August 16, 2010 9:07
AM<BR><B>To:</B> Alpidio Rolon; Amy Buresh; Angela Wolf; Anil Lewis; Art
Schreiber; Beth Rival; Bill Packee; Bob Kresmer; Carl Jacobsen; Cassandra
McNabb; Cathy Jackson; Charlene Smyth; Christine G. Hall; Dan Hicks; Daniel
Burke; Don Galloway; Donna Wood; Elsie Dickerson; Frank Lee; Franklin Shiner;
Fred Schroeder; Gary Ray; Gary Wunder; J.W. Smith; James Antonacci; Jennelle
Bichler; Jennifer Dunnam; Joe Ruffalo; John Batron; John Fritz; Joyce Scanlan;
Ken Rollman; Kevan Worley; Kim Williams; Larry Posont; Lynn Majewski; Mary
Willows; Matt Lyles; Matt Lyles; Melissa Riccobono; Michael Barber; Michael
Freeman; Mika Pyyhkala; Nani Fife; Pam Allen; Parnell Diggs; Patti Chang; Rena
Smith; Richard Gaffney; Ron Brown; Ron Gardner; Sam Gleese; Scott LaBarre;
Selena Sundling-Crawford<BR><B>Subject:</B> Blind Driver Challenge Receives Top
Graphical System Design Achievement Awards at NIWeek 2010<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Garamond>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT face=Helvetica><FONT size=4>FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT
face=Helvetica>CONTACT:<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>Chris
Danielsen<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>Director of Public
Relations<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>National Federation of the
Blind<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>(410) 659-9314, extension
2330<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>(410) 262-1281
(Cell)<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><A
href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT
face=Arial>cdanielsen@nfb.org</FONT></SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=5
face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT size=4
face=Helvetica>Blind Driver Challenge Receives Top </FONT><A
name=OLE_LINK8></A><A name=OLE_LINK9><SPAN style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8"><FONT
size=4 face=Helvetica>Graphical System <BR>Design Achievement Awards
</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT face=Helvetica><FONT size=4>at NIWeek
2010<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=5
face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Helvetica><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Baltimore,
Maryland (August 16, 2010):</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> The
National Federation of the Blind’s Blind Driver Challenge—an innovative effort
to create a nonvisual interface that empowers a blind person to operate an
automobile—received the 2010 Application of the Year Award at the National
Instruments Graphical System Design Achievement Awards ceremony held during the
NIWeek annual conference in Austin, Texas. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In response to a challenge issued by the
National Federation of the Blind (NFB), students and researchers at Virginia
Tech—using National Instruments (NI) technology—developed a semi-autonomous
vehicle that allows a blind driver to successfully navigate, control speed, and
avoid collision while traversing a closed driving course.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">NIWeek, hosted by National
Instruments, is the world’s leading graphical system design conference and
exhibition, showcasing the latest developments in graphical system design,
virtual instrumentation, and commercial technologies.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>The Virginia Tech/TORC Blind Driver
Challenge team project also received the Graphical System Design Achievement
Award in the Robotics category.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Helvetica><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of
the Blind, said: “The Blind Driver Challenge is a National Federation of the
Blind initiative to cause the creation of a nonvisual driving interface for the
blind.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We can build a car that the
blind can drive independently and safely.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>All we need is an interface that can capture information from the
environment and provide it to the blind driver in nonvisual ways.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The innovations produced in the process
of creating this blind-drivable vehicle will help the blind gain access to a
great deal of information that has traditionally been presented only
visually<SPAN class=254360513-16082010>. </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">These innovations will also help the sighted find ways
to learn more than they now know and operate machines with increased efficiency
and safety.” </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>The paper describing the project
was submitted by Dr. Dennis Hong, director of the Robotics and Mechanisms
Laboratory (RoMeLa) at Virginia Tech’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">College</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Engineering</st1:PlaceName></st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, along with
Greg Jannaman and Kimberly Wenger, two of the undergraduate students that worked
under Dr. Hong's direction on the first-generation prototype of the nonvisual
interface for a blind-drivable vehicle.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dr. Hong
and his students are currently working with the NFB on the second-generation
prototype vehicle, which will integrate new and improved versions of the
first-generation nonvisual interface technologies into a Ford Escape.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>The vehicle is scheduled to be
demonstrated to the public as part of the pre-race activities at the 2011 Rolex
24 At Daytona on January 29, 2011.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Helvetica><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica">Dr. Hong said: “Three
years ago we accepted the NFB Blind Driver Challenge to develop a vehicle that
can be driven by a blind person.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I
recognized this as an opportunity to motivate my students to challenge
themselves to change the world.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Winning t</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">he National Instruments
Graphical System Design Achievement Award is a tremendous validation of their
hard work and creativity.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica>Ray Almgren, vice president of
marketing for core platforms at National Instruments, said: “The competition was
very intense this year, with more than one hundred applications submitted by
universities and technology companies from around the world who are using
National Instruments hardware and software to create life-changing
technologies.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The Blind Driver
Challenge of the National Federation of the Blind i</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">s truly reflective of our commitment
to provide students, engineers, and scientists with the technology and training
to improve quality of life worldwide.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">For more information about the NFB,
please visit </SPAN><A title=http://www.nfb.org/
href="http://www.nfb.org/"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">www.nfb.org</SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">. For our digital news release
about the Blind Driver Challenge and the planned debut of the BDC car at the
Rolex 24, including audio and video clips for television and radio, please
visit </SPAN><A
title=http://www.digitalnewsrelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKitwww.DigitalNewsRelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit
href="http://www.digitalnewsrelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">www.DigitalNewsRelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit</SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">###<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal align=center>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Helvetica></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p><FONT face=Helvetica><FONT
face=Garamond></FONT> </FONT></o:p></SPAN>
<P></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Helvetica> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">About the National Federation of the
Blind</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">With more than 50,000 members, the
National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership
organization of blind people in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The NFB improves
blind people’s lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and
programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading
force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In
January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
Institute, the first research and training center in the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region></st1:place> for the blind led by the
blind. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">About National
Instruments<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">National
Instruments (</SPAN><A href="http://www.ni.com/"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">www.ni.com</SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">) is
transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy
systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>NI empowers customers </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">with off-the-shelf software such as
NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of
more than 30,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer
representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing
more than 15 percent of revenue. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Headquartered in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Austin</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Texas</st1:State></st1:place>, NI has more than 5,000 employees and
direct operations in more than 40 countries. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For the past 11 years, FORTUNE magazine
has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=5
face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI,
ni.com and NIWeek are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and
company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective
companies. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
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face=Helvetica> </FONT></o:p></P>
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