Chuck Mai: Technology for blind drivers may help sighted drivers as well

Chuck Mai: Technology for blind drivers may help sighted drivers as well
Innovations enabling a blind person to drive on an experimental basis eventually may end up in use for every driver
Some very smart people are busy developing innovative technology that may someday allow a blind person to drive a car.
This seemingly impossible task is being spearheaded by the National Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech University .
Through use of traffic-perceiving laser sensors, special cameras and nonvisual interfaces, long-held notions about what the blind can and cannot do are being challenged.
And they’re making progress. In January, a sightless driver will put these new technologies to the test in a modified Ford Escape SUV on the track at Daytona International Speedway before the Rolex 24 race. Should be interesting.
Nonvisual interfaces take many forms. One, called AirPix, uses an eight-inch by six-inch tablet filled with a grid of air holes that gives the driver a sort of map of his surroundings based on the flow of air through the holes.
Another uses gloves containing vibrating motors over the knuckles that tell the driver where and when to turn. It’s called DriveGrip.
Whether any of these technologies see the light of day remains to be seen. But even if they fail, the groundbreaking engineering may find its way into conventional vehicles, helping sighted drivers become safer drivers.
Chuck Mai is vice president of public affairs for AAA Oklahoma . E-mail him at chuck. Culture and Lifestyle , Health and Fitness , Cars and Car Design , Eyesight and Eye Health , SUVs and Crossovers
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