[Njabs-talk] Blind Driver Challenge of the National Federation of the Blind Featured at NIWeek 2010

[EVELYN E. VALDEZ]

Blind Driver Challenge of the National Federation of the Blind
Featured at NIWeek 2010

Austin, Texas (August 2, 2010): The Blind Driver Challenge of the
National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is one of the new technological
innovations that will be featured at this year's NIWeek, held August
3-5.  Hosted by National Instruments (NI), NIWeek is the world's
leading graphical system design conference and exhibition, showcasing
the latest developments in graphical system design, virtual
instrumentation, and commercial technologies.  Dr. Dennis Hong of
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech),
College of Engineering will deliver a keynote presentation describing
the work of the Virginia Tech/TORC team to create a nonvisual
interface that will allow a blind person to drive an automobile
independently.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "Building a nonvisual interface that will allow a blind person
to operate an automobile independently and safely will expand the
educational and employment opportunities of blind people.  We believe
the technology that must be developed to make driving possible will
offer opportunities for blind people to learn nonvisually in other
areas; and in the process, we will learn more about how blind people
perceive, gather, and manipulate information.  We believe that when
this technology is fully developed, sighted people will also be able
to operate their vehicles more safely and easily.  NIWeek provides us
with an opportunity to highlight our Blind Driver Challenge and to
encourage the developers of innovative technology to partner with us
and make a car drivable by the blind a reality."

Dr. Dennis Hong, director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at
Virginia Tech, said: "NIWeek is an excellent opportunity to showcase
our work with the Blind Driver Challenge of the National Federation of
the Blind, and to encourage other universities to accept the
challenge.  As a professor, I have found that the Blind Driver
Challenge is also a very important educational opportunity.  Last year
we had twelve very talented undergraduate students working on our
first prototype vehicle.  Throughout the project we teach all the
fundamental theories of science, mathematics, and engineering, but
this challenge was a fantastic chance for the students to apply all
the things they learned to a real-life project.  I often ask my
students, 'How many opportunities in your lifetime do you have a
chance to change the world?'  This is really a project that most
people thought was impossible, but we are making the impossible
possible."

Ray Almgren, vice president of marketing for core platforms at
National Instruments, said: "National Instruments is committed to
providing tools that inspire engineers and scientists to improve the
world.  Empowering students with the technology and training to solve
the grand challenges facing society is at the core of this commitment.
We are thrilled that the Virginia Tech/TORC team is using National
Instruments technology, including NI LabVIEW software and CompactRIO
hardware, to create an interface for a blind-drivable vehicle that
will literally change everyday life for the millions of blind and
visually impaired Americans who cannot currently get behind the
wheel."

The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute-the only
research and training facility on blindness operated by the blind-has
challenged universities, technology developers, and other interested
innovators to establish NFB Blind Driver Challenge (BDC) teams, in
collaboration with the NFB, to build interface technologies that will
empower blind people to drive a car independently.  The purpose of the
NFB Blind Driver Challenge is to stimulate the development of
nonvisual interface technology.  The Virginia Tech/TORC team, under
the direction of Dr. Dennis Hong, Director of the Robotics and
Mechanisms Laboratory at Virginia Tech., is the only team that has
accepted the challenge.  The team is currently working with the
National Federation of the Blind on the second-generation prototype
vehicle to integrate new and improved versions of the first-generation
nonvisual interface technologies into a Ford Escape.

The NIWeek conference will be held August 3--5, at the Austin
Convention Center in Austin, Texas.

For more information about the National Federation of the Blind,
please visit www.nfb.org.  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 www.DigitalNewsRelease.com/?q=NFB_CarKit.











About the National Federation of the Blind



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 United States.  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
United States for the blind led by the blind.



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