• Blind Drivers Will Test-Drive Modified Ford Escape at Daytona Next Year
    21 replies, posted
[QUOTE]An effort to help blind people drive cars has reached an important step -- driver awareness systems are now being integrated into a mass-production vehicle. Blind drivers will test-drive a specially outfitted Ford Escape in January at Daytona International Speedway, team members announced Friday. It will probably be a while before a legally blind person will be able to drive a car on the highway, but it’s not as far-fetched as it used to be. A team at Virginia Tech has been working on a car for the blind since 2007, when they won a Darpa Grand Challenge award for a self-driving vehicle that used sensors to perceive traffic, avoid crashing into other cars and objects and run like any other vehicle. The National Federation for the Blind joined forces with the Tech team, which spent the next two years developing a dune buggy that used lasers and cameras to act as the vehicle’s “eyes.” Now, the team has two new interfaces that use blind drivers’ other senses to help them perceive the road. A blind person, who has not yet been selected, will drive a modified Escape on the famous Daytona race track in January, AP reports. The vehicle has a couple interfaces -- one, called DriveGrip, uses gloves with vibrating motors that cover the knuckles. Vibrations tell the driver when and where to turn, AP reports. Another interface, AirPix, works like an air-hockey game. It involves a tablet with holes that release compressed air, essentially creating a sensory map of the driver’s surroundings, AP explains. The National Federation of the Blind is involved in the research, hoping to provide blind people with more independence. [img]http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/blindcantake.jpg[/img] [/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2010-07/blind-drivers-will-test-drive-modified-ford-escape-daytona-next-year[/url] :h: :science:
I already distrust every other driver in the world-- the idea that there could be blind drivers is almost enough to scare me into walking.
But them you would be Small Dumb American :ohdear:
I said [i]almost[/i] enough. I'm not giving up my wheels without a fight. Even if that fight is against blind people.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23065969]I said [i]almost[/i] enough. I'm not giving up my wheels without a fight. Even if that fight is against blind people.[/QUOTE] [img]http://www.soulsword.com/wp-content/uploads/david-carradine-keye-luke-as-master-po-300x267.jpg[/img] Ah young grasshopper, you cannot fight me.
Considering the number of retards on the roads, is it really necessary to let blind people drive? Whatever anyone can say, a blind guy can't see the road, can't see a car coming from the bad direction, can't see a children walking by the street... Beware, you all hated when your wheels died on the road, getting you right into a field, now you're gonna hate when a blind guy's sensory map will have a disfunction.
GOD NO. PLEASE NO! People already drive terrible enough to make me wonder if they got their license from a cracker jack box. Now this? What's their driving exam? If this happens, I'm going to get a car alarm that if my car is bumped by a blind person driving it'll say "WTF YOU HIT MY CAR!!!!!! ARE YOU BLIINNNNDDDD??? OH I GUESS YOU ARE!!! HAHAHAHAHA! LRN2DRIVE" In microsoft Sam's Voice.
[QUOTE=radioactive;23066176][img]http://www.soulsword.com/wp-content/uploads/david-carradine-keye-luke-as-master-po-300x267.jpg[/img] Ah young grasshopper, you cannot fight me.[/QUOTE] Don't have to. I just have to rearrange your furniture.
I dunno about you BDA, but I think I'd trust a blind driver more than most drivers that I see on the road
[QUOTE=wonkadonk;23066468]I dunno about you BDA, but I think I'd trust a blind driver more than most drivers that I see on the road[/QUOTE] But blind people [i]can't[/i] see the other drivers on the road. Because they're blind.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23066530]But blind people [i]can't[/i] see the other drivers on the road. Because they're blind.[/QUOTE] So they can't see who to be angry at. :v:
If it works, I see no issue with it. Blind people should be able to enjoy the same life we do.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23066530]But blind people [i]can't[/i] see the other drivers on the road. Because they're blind.[/QUOTE] and there are a lot of drivers that have the ability to see other drivers on the road but really don't seem to use it
Blind? He looks more retarded.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23065622]I already distrust every other driver in the world-- the idea that there could be blind drivers is almost enough to scare me into walking.[/QUOTE] in like twenty or thirty years cars will basically be automated anyway so the skill of the driver won't really enter into it
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;23065622]I already distrust every other driver in the world-- the idea that there could be blind drivers is almost enough to scare me into walking.[/QUOTE] I would rather have a blind person crash in to me while I was in a car then on foot.
With the way people drive, you'd think they were blind
Why am I getting this when I view the thread? [IMG]http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u101/JOVH/wur.png?t=1278143948[/IMG] Now we need blind bus drivers, the funnest trip to college you can have :v:
If they can equip a car with all these sensors anyway why not let a computer control the car - it would eliminate human error & quicken reaction times. Imagine a blind person driving around the Arc de Triomphe in one of those things, every driver interface would be going off at once.
[QUOTE=doommarine23;23066674]If it works, I see no issue with it. Blind people should be able to enjoy the same life we do.[/QUOTE] Not if it turns out ending our lives.
They better only offer it for small cars like the Toyota iQ or Smart ForTwo. Blind drivers in a car/truck like a Hummer H1 or a Ford F650 would scare me shitless.
[URL]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/226988.stm[/URL] tch, someone's gone and cured blindness, that sux.
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