Communications of the ACM
Driving Blind at Daytona
Blind driver Mark Riccobono behind the wheel at the Daytona International Speedway.
Steven Mackay/Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech researchers are competing in the National Federation of the Blind's Blind Driver challenge, aimed at developing a car that blind people can drive independently.
The Virginia Tech design is based on a driverless car that the researchers built for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA's) Urban Challenge. The two systems have many of the same components, including a laser light detection and ranging system to identify cars and other obstacles, forward pointing cameras to monitor traffic, and a sophisticated global positioning system.
In the DARPA car, the computer analyzed all the data, picked a route, and used the drive-by-wire system to drive the car. In the Blind Driver Challenge vehicle, the system communicates the information to the driver, who then has to respond accordingly. The Virginia Tech team designed a vest from a massage chair vibrator, which uses different vibration patterns to tell the driver when to slow down, speed up, or stop.
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