[nfbwatlk] Fw: [SPAM] Accessible Devices Vehicle Designed For Blind To Take The Wheel

[Lauren Merryfield]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Parker at Vip conduit" <Vipcomm at mchsi.com>
To: "Accessible Devices" <a-d at accessible-devices.com>
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 1:34 PM
Subject: [SPAM] Accessible Devices Vehicle Designed For Blind To Take The 
Wheel


> Our only question about this article is where do we get one.
> Vehicle Designed For Blind To Take The Wheel
> Article Date: 16 Jul 2009 - 4:00 PDT
> A student team in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering is providing 
> the blind
> with an opportunity many never thought possible: The opportunity to drive.
> A retrofitted four-wheel dirt buggy developed by the Blind Driver 
> Challenge team
> from Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory uses laser range 
> finders,
> an instant voice command interface and a host of other innovative, 
> cutting-edge technology
> to guide blind drivers as they steer, brake, and accelerate. Although in 
> the early
> testing stage, the National Federation of the Blind -- which spurred the 
> project
> -- considers the vehicle a major breakthrough for independent living of 
> the visually
> impaired.
> "It was great!" said Wes Majerus, of Baltimore, the first blind person to 
> drive the
> buggy on a closed course at the Virginia Tech campus this summer. Majerus 
> is an access
> technology specialist with the National Federation of the Blind's Jernigan 
> Institute
> in Baltimore, a research and training institute dedicated to developing 
> technologies
> and services to help the blind achieve independence.
> Majerus called his drive a liberating experience, adding that he drove 
> before on
> Nebraska farm roads with his father as a guide in the passenger seat.
> Sitting inside the vehicle, a blind driver can turn the steering wheel, 
> stop and
> accelerate by following data from a computing unit that uses sensory 
> information
> from the laser range finder serving as the 'eyes' of the driver, in 
> addition to a
> combination of voice commands and a vibrating vest as guides. A member of 
> the Virginia
> Tech student team sat next to Majerus in the passenger seat to monitor the 
> system's
> software operations.
> "It's a great first step," Majerus added. "As far as the differences 
> between human
> instructions and those given by the voice in the Blind Driver Challenge 
> car, the
> car's instructions are very precise. You use the technology to act on the 
> environment
> -- the driving course -- in a very orderly manner. In some cases, the 
> human passenger
> will be vague, "turn left" -- does that mean just a small turn to the 
> left, or are
> we going for large amounts of turn?"
> Also driving the vehicle was Mark Riccobono, also of Baltimore, the 
> executive director
> of the Jernigan Institute, who also is blind. He called his test drive 
> historic.
> "This is sort of our going to the moon project," he said
> In 2004 Jernigan Institute challenged university research teams to develop 
> a vehicle
> that would one day allow the blind to drive. Virginia Tech was the only 
> university
> in the nation to accept the nonprofit's call two years later, said Dennis 
> Hong, director
> of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, part of the Virginia Tech 
> mechanical engineering
> department. The National Federation of the Blind provided a $3,000 grant 
> to launch
> the project.
> "I thought it would be a very rewarding project, helping the blind," said 
> Hong, the
> current faculty adviser on the project. "We are not only excited about the 
> vehicle
> itself, but more than that, we are excited about the potential of the many 
> spin-off
> technologies from this project that can be used for helping the blind in 
> so many
> ways."
> The team will bring the Blind Driver Challenge vehicle to the National 
> Federation
> of the Blind's Youth Slam summer camp event held July 26 through Aug. 1 in 
> College
> Park, Md. There, the team hopes to have teenagers who would be obtaining 
> their driver's
> licenses, but cannot because of their blindness, drive the buggy.
> Youth participants also are expected to remote control drive miniature 
> cars. Additionally,
> the car is expected to ride in a National Federation of the 
> Blind-sponsored parade
> in Washington D.C.
> "I most look forward to learning as much as I can from these bright young 
> students,"
> said Greg Jannaman, who led the Virginia Tech student team in his senior 
> year and
> graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. 
> "Blind students
> from across the nation apply to be selected to attend this summer camp. 
> While we
> are there to provide an educational experience for them, I can only 
> imagine the invaluable
> feedback and fresh new ideas that they will provide in return."
> Jannaman is excited about the vehicle's success. "There wasn't a moment's 
> hesitation
> with any of our blind drivers, whereas blind-folded sighted drivers 
> weren't as quick
> to let go of their preconceptions," said Jannaman of Hendersonville, Tenn. 
> "The blind
> drivers actually performed better than their sighted counterparts. An 
> overwhelming
> sense of accomplishment overcame me as I simply rode along while Wes and 
> Mark successfully
> navigated the driving course without my assistance."
> Early models of the Blind Driver Challenge vehicle relied more on 
> technologies for
> fully autonomous vehicles, previously developed by Virginia Tech 
> mechanical engineering
> students as part of the DARPA Urban Challenge. The student team redesigned 
> the vehicle
> so that the blind motorist has complete control of the driving process, as 
> any sighted
> driver would.
> This change in approach led to new challenges, including how to 
> effectively convey
> the high bandwidth of information from the laser sensors scanning the 
> vehicle's surrounding
> environment to the driver fast enough and accurate enough to allow safe 
> driving.
> As a result, the team developed non-visual interface technologies, 
> including a vibrating
> vest for feedback on speed, a click counter steering wheel with audio 
> cues, spoken
> commands for directional feedback, and a unique tactile map interface that 
> utilizes
> compressed air to provide information about the road and obstacles 
> surrounding the
> vehicle.
> Riccobono knows of mock ups and non-working "blind driver car" set-ups 
> from the past,
> but says this is the first working vehicle to put the blind and visually 
> impaired
> in control of the steering wheel. "Blind people have brains, the capacity 
> to make
> decisions," he said. "Blind people want to live independent lives, why 
> would they
> not want to drive?"
> Even once the technology is perfected, laws now barring the blind from 
> driving and
> public perception must be changed, Riccobono said. "This is the piece that 
> we know
> will be the most difficult," said Riccobono, adding that the car must be 
> near-perfected
> before the National Federation of the Blind can truly push the car to 
> law-makers
> and the general public. He said this effort will take millions of dollars 
> in development.
> The 2009-10 student team already is planning major changes to the 
> technology, including
> replacing the dirt buggy vehicle with a fully electric car commonly used 
> by traffic
> officers in downtown city centers. The all-electric vehicle would reduce 
> the vibration
> which can cause problems to the laser sensor, and it will provide clean 
> electric
> power for the computing units and that is better for the environment.
> Source:
> Steven Mackay
> Virginia Tech
>
> www.vipconduit.com
> and
> www.accessible-devices.com
>
>
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