Blind Drivers Get Behind the Wheel of Terrain-Scanning Car
New prototype uses lasers and force feedback to give the blind a chance to drive For long-distance trips, the seeing-eye dog might soon be replaced by the seeing-eye car. Researchers on Virginia Tech's Blind Driver Team, with funding from the National Federation of the Blind, might soon give blind people the ability to do something they never thought possible: drive. The prototype "car" is actually a buggy equipped with lasers that judge the surrounding terrain. That information is then relayed to the blind driver through a variety of tactile and auditory cues to help them navigate the closed track successfully. Since directions for navigation must be very precise, from the amount of turn required to the immediate need for braking and acceleration, the information relayed has to be more than what could be conveyed by a passenger in the shotgun seat. Therefore, the...