[Quietcars] NFB article you should read.

Fri Jul 9 18:32:17 UTC 2010

I have to agree with you completely. Having been blind since birth I think 
that much more emphasis could be spent on improving public transit and 
working toward such things as personal rapid transit which is being 
experimented with in Europe and other places. I can only wonder how much 
money is spent on this activity that could be spent more effectively with 
greater results.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "michael townsend" <mrtownsend at optonline.net>
To: <quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 7:32 AM
Subject: [Quietcars] NFB article you should read.


>I am a car nut and have loved cars since I was a young child.  I listen to
> car radio and television shows, read all I can on the net and ride in and
> work on as many cars as possible, but here are my thoughts about the below
> article which I have posted.  This is a great idea, however, it will 
> benefit
> few in the long run.
>
> Mike T in NJ
>
>
>
> Rather than concentrating efforts on ludicrous things like driving a car,
> which is a one person accomplish or an accomplish which will see fw doing
> it, concentrate on training that will allow blind persons to function in
> regular atmospheres, like corporations, or to allow one to be 
> self-employed
> to then lower the 70 percent jobless rate of the blind or sight impaired.
>
> My thoughts, solely.
> Below is an article that a TSE handler posted to another list. What do you
> think.
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> CONTACT:
> Chris Danielsen
> Director of Public Relations
> National Federation of the Blind
> (410) 659-9314
> , extension 2330
> (410) 262-1281
> (Cell)
> cdanielsen at nfb.org <mailto:cdanielsen%40nfb.org>
> <mailto:cdanielsen%40nfb.org> National Federation of the Blind to Debut 
> Car
> That Can Be Driven Independently by the Blind at Rolex 24 NFB, Virginia
> Tech, and Grand-Am Form Historic Partnership to Advance Innovative
> Technology Daytona Beach, Florida (July 2, 2010): The National Federation 
> of
> the Blind
> (NFB)
> and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, College of
> Engineering (Virginia
> Tech) announced today that they have partnered to demonstrate the first
> street vehicle equipped with technology allowing a blind person to drive
> independently.
> The vehicle
> is scheduled to be demonstrated to the public as part of the pre-race
> activities at the 2011 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The Ford Escape, equipped with
> nonvisual interface technology, will be driven by a blind individual who
> will navigate part of the famed Daytona International Speedway course on
> January 29, 2011.
> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
> "The National
> Federation of the Blind is dedicated to the development of innovative
> technology to improve the lives of blind Americans, and Virginia Tech has
> accepted our challenge to apply nonvisual interfaces to the task of 
> driving,
> which has always been wrongly considered impossible for blind people. But 
> we
> are not trying to build a technology alone. We are trying to build a
> technology that can be combined with an intellect to do things that 
> neither
> could do alone. We are pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate the
> fruits of our efforts before the automobile enthusiasts and racing fans at
> the Rolex 24 At Daytona. This demonstration will break down the wall of
> stereotypes and misconceptions that prevent our full integration into
> society by showing the public that the blind have the same capacities as
> everyone else.
> Our
> only challenge is access to the information we need."
> Dr. Dennis Hong, Director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at
> Virginia Tech,
> said: "Three years ago we accepted the NFB Blind Driver Challenge to 
> develop
> a vehicle that can be driven by a blind person. The challenge was not the
> development of an autonomous vehicle that could drive a blind person 
> around,
> but rather the creation of nonvisual interfaces that would allow a blind
> person to actually make driving decisions. The first-generation prototype
> was demonstrated with a modified dune buggy at the NFB Youth Slam in the
> summer of 2009. We are pleased to work with NFB and Grand-Am to 
> demonstrate
> the second-generation prototype at the Rolex 24 festivities."
> "GRAND-AM is honored to lend its support to this intriguing-and
> inspirational-project,"
> said GRAND-AM Spokesman Herb Branham. "The Rolex 24 At Daytona is a 
> showcase
> for the latest automobile technology, making this race an appropriate
> backdrop for the first public demonstration of a car that can be driven by
> the blind."
> The NFB 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. Undergraduate students at
> Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, under the direction of Professor
> Dennis Hong, have been actively working with the NFB on the challenge.
> During the summer of
> 2009 the
> Virginia Tech BDC team worked with blind students in the NFB Youth Slam on
> the first-generation prototype of a blind-drivable vehicle, and many of 
> the
> NFB students had the opportunity to drive using the first generation of 
> the
> nonvisual interface. 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.
> For more information about the NFB, 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.
> C2010 All Rights Reserved - Copyright 2010 NFB Site Powered by xCatalyst
>
> "I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself...but I 
> think
> I have a right to resent, to object to, libelous statements about my dog."
> -Franklin D. Roosevelt
> Mike Townsend and Seeing Eye dog Brent
> Dunellen, New Jersey 08812
> emails: mrtownsend at optonline.net <mailto:mrtownsend%40optonline.net>
> <mailto:mrtownsend%40optonline.net> ; michael.townsend54 at gmail.com
> <mailto:michael.townsend54%40gmail.com>
> <mailto:michael.townsend54%40gmail.com>
> Home Phone: 732 200-5643
> Cellular: 732 718-9480
>
>
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