World

Cars for the blind – stop it

by YankeeJim | July 5, 2010 at 01:19 pm

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I am having trouble hearing and my Dad is going blind. The last thing that he needs in his 80’s is to have a car. Perhaps there are conditions when a younger blind-impaired person might need to drive, but I don’t see it.

With all of the significant things we need to focus on, cars for the blind isn’t one of them. Now, if you say interfaces for the blind to help them navigate through life easier, then I am all for that.

This is another do-gooder case gone wild. I bet government money is behind this.

Group Aims To Build Car For The Blind
By Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer
Manufacturing.Net - July 02, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Could a blind person drive a car? Researchers are trying to make that far-flung notion a reality.

The National Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech plan to demonstrate a prototype vehicle next year equipped with technology that helps a blind person drive a car independently.

The technology, called "nonvisual interfaces," uses sensors to let a blind driver maneuver a car based on information transmitted to him about his surroundings: whether another car or object is nearby, in front of him or in a neighboring lane.

Advocates for the blind consider it a "moon shot," a goal similar to President John F. Kennedy's pledge to land a man on the moon. For many blind people, driving a car long has been considered impossible. But researchers hope the project could revolutionize mobility and challenge long-held assumptions about limitations.

"We're exploring areas that have previously been regarded as unexplorable," said Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind. "We're moving away from the theory that blindness ends the capacity of human beings to make contributions to society."

The Baltimore-based organization was announcing its plans for the vehicle demonstration at a news conference Friday in Daytona Beach, Fla.”