Blind can take wheel with new vehicle
> Mark Riccobono, executive director of the National Federation of the Blind’s > Jernigan Institute, drives the Virginia Tech Blind Driver Challenge > vehicle > through an obstacle course of traffic cones on a campus parking lot. In > the > passenger seat is Greg Jannaman, who led the student team within the > mechanical engineering department during the past year, and is monitoring > the software of the vehicle. Credit: Steven Mackay, Virginia Tech > > 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 (http://www.me.vt.edu/blinddriver/) 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. > > Wesley Majerus, an access technology specialist with the National > Federation > of the Blind’s Jernigan Institute, finishes driving the Virginia Tech > Blind > Driver Challenge vehicle around a roped-off driving course on a campus > parking lot. The experience, he said, was liberating. > > 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: Virginia Tech (news : web) > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > e-mail commands. to go no mail enter, and hit send on the following links. > [email protected] > To return, > [email protected] Yahoo! 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