rockin'robin

Laser Range Finder, Voice Software and Vibrating Vest Help Blind Drivers Navigate

Without sight since birth, Wesley Majerus never imagined he'd have the chance to drive a car on his own.

"On my 16th birthday, I was kind of bummed. But you realize it's one of those things you can't change," he said. "You adapt to the techniques of blindness."

But, earlier this month, the 28-year-old access technology expert for the National Federation of the Blind became the first blind person to drive a vehicle that does not require sight.

Designed by a team of students at the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, the retrofitted four-wheel dune buggy uses laser range finders, voice command software and other sensory technologies that help blind drivers navigate.

"At first, I was kind of nervous," Majerus said. "But once I got the hand of how it all worked, it was liberating."

The car was developed in response to a challenge issued to university students by the National Federation of the Blind's Jernigan Institute in 2004. Virginia Tech answered the call with a proposal in 2006 (the lone university to do so) and received a $3,000 grant to launch the project.


Multisensory Interface Provides Non-Visual Cues
Under the guidance of Dennis Hong, a mechanical engineering and robotics professor, nine undergraduates designed and constructed the car.

Inspired in part by technology that powers autonomous vehicles (cars that navigate without drivers), Virginia Tech's Blind Driver Challenge Team designed a multisensory interface that scans the environment for obstacles and gives the driver non-visual cues.

For example, a vest worn by the driver vibrates on one side when the driver needs to slow down and shakes entirely when the driver needs to come to a complete stop.

The laser range finder, connected to the steering wheel, uses a laser beam to determine the car's distance from the edge of the road and other objects. As the driver accelerates the car, a voice tells him how far to turn the wheel by indicating the number of "clicks" he must make. One click corresponds to about five degrees.

Hong said that while the project is intended to help the blind, the applications could extend to the entire population.

(More on this story.....)
New Car Puts Blind Drivers Behind the Wheel - ABC News

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souggy

"After you work through the problems of being blind, you realize that blindness is not a disability, it's an inconvenience," he said. "And the top three inconveniences are transportation, transportation, transportation."

I have been saying that for years regarding deafness and blindness. However a lot of people think otherwise.

I remember being excited to hear this on Discovery channel, or rather Daily Planet years ago, when they once mentioned that the U.S. Army was working on a car that could be used by the blind to navigate.

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"It is my task to convince you not to turn away because you don’t understand it." - Richard Freynman

Banjo

Wow, what a bunch of ignorant commenters on that page.

It's no surprise though. But it's fantastic news that they are developing the technology needed to help the blind navigate in a car.

rockdrummer

sequoias

That doesn't sound too safe.

rockdrummer

The do have braile on the drive up ATM machines. I was always suprised by that.

shel90

It is all about making the technology possible to empower people..it can be done!

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Buffalo

If everybody has this type of car where one can enter the location of destination and the car will take you there, accidents and drunk driving would be things of past. I would love to have this kind of car where I can catch up on reading/craft or doing paperwork while driving to work.

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“The problem is not that the (deaf) students do not hear. The problem is that the hearing world does not listen. “- Rev Jesse L. Jackson ( American Civil Rights Activist, Minister)

sequoias

The reason why it doesn't sound safe....what if someone cuts in front or a car run across the intersection last minute....would the car have time to react and avoid the accident? What about rain and snow? The highways and intersections are dangerous out there causing over 40,000 deaths a year.

The Highlander

Hehhehe I agreed with you. Same idea ABS is not work great for snow so I had to use pump the brake to slow down thru four inch of snow. Technology is not perfect.

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"There are a lot of people that don’t like this software. It is because they don’t understand how to use the software and don’t realize it’s potential."

sablescort

y'all shud see this amazing vids of a blind guy getting to drive a 2010 Mustang....and that was without the stuff from the buggy, but Ford had a race car driver in the shotgun seat along for the ride...

The 2010 Ford Mustang Unleashed - Videos, Pictures, Specs & Pricing

sequoias

Yeah, of course technology isn't perfect. My ex gf's Saturn wagon has ABS but it's not perfect. It will even lock up depending on road condition.

sablescort

The engineers should consult with an experienced race car driver so they can use the driver's experience to incorporate into the algorithms for the computer programming needed to achieve the best results for a blind driver on the street. The reasoning behind this is that race car drivers have to react very quickly to situations like weather, crashes, and anything that would appear at random than a regular driver would.

If you saw the youtube video of the blind guy driving with 4 time Trans-Am champion Tommy Kendall on the shotgun seat, you will understand what Im talking about.

Or even better let Ford take over the development of this amazing technology. That way Ford can be the first to have blind driver-friendly vehicles as how much Ford has been encouraged by the videos of Roger and his experience with the Mustang.

Buffalo

In this case, he really do need a backseat driver!

__________________

“The problem is not that the (deaf) students do not hear. The problem is that the hearing world does not listen. “- Rev Jesse L. Jackson ( American Civil Rights Activist, Minister)

sablescort

That is what the computer system being developed by VT is for. It's just basically a backseat driver except its more smarter than the mother-in-law lol.

Mrs Bucket

Anything is possible!

Buffalo

Yes, the computer doesn't screech or scream or anything like that.

__________________

“The problem is not that the (deaf) students do not hear. The problem is that the hearing world does not listen. “- Rev Jesse L. Jackson ( American Civil Rights Activist, Minister)