Never before have the visually impaired driven a car all by themselves, but with a laser range finder and an instant voice command interface embedded into a retrofitted four-wheel dirt buggy, the blind could be able to steer it, making it the first car ever to be driven autonomously by the blind. This breakthrough buggy developed by the Blind Driver Challenge team from Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory lets the blind driver steer, break and accelerate without any external human assistance.
Equipped with cutting edge technologies, the blind can maneuver the car based on precise information delivered by a computing unit, which supported by a sensory unit gathers data from the laser view finder (virtual eyes for the driver). The voice commands and a vibrating vest (worn by the driver) function as guides to help the view finder and the system function adequately.
The Blind Driver Challenge car will be exhibited at the National Federation of the Blind’s Youth Slam summer camp scheduled for July 26 through Aug. 1 in College Park, Md USA. The previously developed Blind Driver Challenge vehicle relied more on technology for fully autonomous status, but this one is specially redesigned for blind drivers to have complete control of the driving process.
Wes Majerus, is the first blind person to have successfully test driven the four-wheel dirt buggy, but the developers believe there is still scope for improvement in the system and also in the vehicle, which they intend to build as a electric car in the near future.
Via: VTNews
