[Nfbnet-members-list] Blind drivers test out vehicle at VIR Source: WSLS 10 (Roanoke, Virginia)
Freeh, Jessica
JFreeh at nfb.org
Fri Jan 21 03:17:38 UTC 2011
The following article about the Blind Driver
Challenge was published yesterday on a Roanoke,
Virginia news site. This is the first of several
important e-mails about the Rolex 24 At Daytona
event that will be sent in the next few days as
Race Day (Saturday, January 29) approaches. Please stay tuned.
Blind drivers test out vehicle at VIR
Source: WSLS 10 (Roanoke, Virginia)
By <http://www2.godanriver.com/staff/50988/>TARA BOZICK
Published: January 19, 2011
When
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/anil-lewis/>Anil
Lewis lost his sight, he sorely missed driving.
Now, technology and innovation allow
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/anil-lewis/>him
to drive again, as he did at Virginia International Raceway on Wednesday.
For me, driving again is a very awesome
experience, said
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/anil-lewis/>Lewis,
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/director-of-strategic-communications/>director
of strategic communications for the
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/organization/tags/national-federation-of-the-blind/>National
Federation of the Blind.
He and the
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/organization/tags/national-federation-of-the-blind/>NFB
cant wait for tens of thousands of people to
witness a blind
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/driver/>driver
demonstration as part of the pre-race activities
of the Rolex 24 at
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/facility/tags/daytona-international-speedway/>Daytona
International Speedway at 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 29.
Thats what the research team and drivers were
practicing for at VIR this past week.
Hardly anybody else in the world believes this
is even possible, said
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/mark-riccobono/>Mark
Riccobono,
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/executive-director/>executive
director of the NFBs
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/facility/tags/jernigan-institute/>Jernigan
Institute. Because we believe its possible,
were working on it and found the brightest minds
who believed in it and are working on it to make it possible.
The vision that one day blind people would drive
independently started with
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/marc-maurer/>Marc
Maurer,
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/president/>president
of
the<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/organization/tags/national-federation-of-the-blind/>NFB.
In 2004, the organization called on innovative
technology as part of its
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/blind-driver/>Blind
Driver Challenge.
So far,
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/organization/tags/virginia-tech/>Virginia
Tech with its Robotics and
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/company/tags/mechanisms-laboratory/>Mechanisms
Laboratory is the only university to step up and
take on the challenge to develop
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/non-visual-driver/>non-visual
driver interfaces or tools, like gloves that
send vibrations to tell drivers how to steer.
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/mark-riccobono/>Riccobono
hopes more universities will get involved now
that one hurdle was jumped developing the
vehicle or vehicle research platform that
could integrate the non-visual interfaces and
test out ideas on how the car could communicate
with blind drivers. That vehicle was developed by
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/company/tags/torc/>TORC,
a spin-off company
from<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/organization/tags/virginia-tech/>Virginia
Tech specializing in unmanned vehicles and
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/company/tags/autonomous-systems/>autonomous
systems.
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/company/tags/torc/>TORC
developed a ByWire XGV (drive-by-wire) vehicle
using a
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/company/tags/ford/>Ford
Escape Hybrid, said
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/company/tags/torc/>TORC
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/software-engineer/>software
engineer
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/jesse-hurdus/>Jesse
Hurdus. The collaborative team completed two prototypes vehicles.
The
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/organization/tags/virginia-tech/>Virginia
Tech team, led by graduate student Paul DAngio
and
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/adviser/>adviser
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/dennis-hong/>Dennis
Hong (director of the robotics lab), developed a
SpeedStrip and DriveGrip as interfaces.
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/driver/>A
driver sits on the SpeedStrip to communicate
through the back and legs whether
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/driver/>a
driver needs to speed up or brake. The DriveGrip
is a pair of gloves that vibrates which direction
to turn and also to what degree depending on the
finger. For instance, if the vibration is on the
pinky finger, that means
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/driver/>the
driver should make a sharp turn.
DAngio wanted to take on a project that would
help society. The ear-to-ear smiles of blind
drivers taking the vehicle for a spin also fuel his passion.
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/anil-lewis/>Lewis
and
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/mark-riccobono/>Riccobono
hope these efforts can help blind people gain
more access to jobs or other activities. They
believe driving is just the beginning of the uses for this kind of technology.
Most of all, they would like to shatter
misconceptions people have about the abilities of
blind people.
The<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/organization/tags/national-federation-of-the-blind/>NFB
continually pushes the horizons of independence
and its 50,000 members are counting on
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/position/tags/blind-driver/>the
Blind Driver Challenge.
We want to prove blind people can drive,
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/person/tags/anil-lewis/>Lewis
said. Where it takes us from there, thats the fun part of the drive.
Learn more
For more information about the Blind Drive
Challenge and to get updates on the Daytona
demonstration, visit www.blinddriverchallenge.org.
For more info on Virginia Techs Robotics and
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/company/tags/mechanisms-laboratory/>Mechanisms
Laboratory, visit www.romela.org.
For info on
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/company/tags/torc/>TORC,
visit www.torctech.com.
For more info on the
<http://www2.godanriver.com/topics/types/organization/tags/national-federation-of-the-blind/>National
Federation of the Blind, visit www.nfb.org.
Link to article:
<http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/jan/19/blind-drivers-test-out-vehicle-vir-ar-785883/>http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/jan/19/blind-drivers-test-out-vehicle-vir-ar-785883/
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