[Quietcars] NFB article you should read.

Fri Jul 9 18:44:48 UTC 2010

I agree as well.
Even if they got it so that we could drive, most of us are jobless and 
couldn't buy one anyway.
Plus the way people drive here, I would never take a car out that I've spent 
thousonds on
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <ckrugman at sbcglobal.net>
To: "Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety" 
<quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 1:32 PM
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] NFB article you should read.


>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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>
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