Wednesday, July 29, 2009 VIRGINIA: Virginia Tech undergrads packed an all-terrain buggy with technology lifted from the university’s DARPA Urban Challenge entry to create a car the blind can drive.The semi-autonomous vehicle uses a laser range finder, voice software and other sensory technology, and it worked flawlessly when blind drivers took the wheel on a closed course. Advocates for the blind joined the lead researcher in calling the vehicle a breakthrough in independent living for the visually impaired.“We are not only excited about the vehicle itself, but also the potential spinoff technologies from this project that could end up helping the blind,” Dennis Hong, the director of the university’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory said. The car was born of a challenge the National Federation of the Blind’s Jernigan Institute issued in 2004 when it called on universities to develop a vehicle for the blind. Virginia Tech accepted the challenge in 2006 — the only university to do so ...
Get to know about News and lifestyle