Hello list does anyone have a yaesue V X 6 triband hand held. is so could you pass along any programming tips for blind ham users? Bob Heiser K9BOB ----- Original Message ----- From: "Danny Dyer" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 10:01 AM Subject: OT, UntilYou Put A Mobile Rig In This Car > TOPIC: Va. Tech designs vehicle that allows the blind to drive > http://groups.google.com/group/vipnews/t/bcc3e83952ab4fc1?hl=3Den > =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= > =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= > =3D=3D > NewsLeader.com, VA, USA > > Va. Tech designs vehicle that allows the blind to drive > Staff Reports > July 15, 2009 > > BLACKSBURG - A student team in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering = > is providing the blind with=20 > an opportunity many never thought possible: The opportunity to drive. > A retrofitted four-wheel dirt buggy developed by the Blind Driver = > Challenge team from Virginia Tech's=20 > Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory uses laser range finders, an instant = > voice command interface and=20 > a host of other innovative, cutting-edge technology to guide blind = > drivers as they steer, brake, and=20 > accelerate. Although in the early testing stage, the National Federation = > of the Blind -- which=20 > spurred the project -- considers the vehicle a major breakthrough for = > independent living of the=20 > visually impaired. > "It was great!" said Wes Majerus of Baltimore, the first blind person to = > drive the buggy on a closed=20 > course at the Virginia Tech campus earlier this summer. Majerus is an = > access technology specialist=20 > with the National Federation of the Blind's Jernigan Institute in = > Baltimore, a research and training=20 > institute dedicated to developing technologies and services to help the = > blind achieve independence. > > Majerus called his drive a liberating experience, adding that he drove = > before on Nebraska farm roads=20 > with his father as a guide in the passenger seat. > > Sitting inside the vehicle, a blind driver can turn the steering wheel, = > stop and accelerate by=20 > following data from a computing unit that uses sensory information from = > the laser range finder=20 > serving as the 'eyes' of the driver, in addition to a combination of = > voice commands and a vibrating=20 > vest as guides. A member of the Virginia Tech student team sat next to = > Majerus in the passenger seat=20 > to monitor the system's software operations. > > "It's a great first step," Majerus added. "As far as the differences = > between human instructions and=20 > those given by the voice in the Blind Driver Challenge car, the car's = > instructions are very precise.=20 > You use the technology to act on the environment -- the driving course = > -- in a very orderly manner.=20 > In some cases, the human passenger will be vague, "turn left" -- does = > that mean just a small turn to=20 > the left, or are we going for large amounts of turn?" > > Also driving the vehicle was Mark Riccobono, also of Baltimore, the = > executive director of the=20 > Jernigan Institute, who also is blind. He called his test drive = > historic. "This is sort of our going=20 > to the moon project," he said > > In 2004 Jernigan Institute challenged university research teams to = > develop a vehicle that would one=20 > day allow the blind to drive. Virginia Tech was the only university in = > the nation to accept the=20 > nonprofit's call two years later, said Dennis Hong, director of the = > Robotics and Mechanisms=20 > Laboratory, part of the Virginia Tech mechanical engineering department. = > The National Federation of=20 > the Blind provided a $3,000 grant to launch the project. > > "I thought it would be a very rewarding project, helping the blind," = > said Hong, the current faculty=20 > adviser on the project. "We are not only excited about the vehicle = > itself, but more than that, we=20 > are excited about the potential of the many spin-off technologies from = > this project that can be used=20 > for helping the blind in so many ways." > > The team will bring the Blind Driver Challenge vehicle to the National = > Federation of the Blind's=20 > Youth Slam summer camp event held July 26 through Aug. 1 in College = > Park, Md. There, the team hopes=20 > to have teenagers who would be obtaining their driver's licenses, but = > cannot because of their=20 > blindness, drive the buggy. > > Youth participants also are expected to remote control drive miniature = > cars. Additionally, the car=20 > is expected to ride in a National Federation of the Blind-sponsored = > parade in Washington D.C. > > "I most look forward to learning as much as I can from these bright = > young students," said Greg=20 > Jannaman, who led the Virginia Tech student team in his senior year and = > graduated in May with a=20 > bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. "Blind students from across = > the nation apply to be=20 > selected to attend this summer camp. While we are there to provide an = > educational experience for=20 > them, I can only imagine the invaluable feedback and fresh new ideas = > that they will provide in=20 > return." > > Jannaman is excited about the vehicle's success. "There wasn't a = > moment's hesitation with any of our=20 > blind drivers, whereas blind-folded sighted drivers weren't as quick to = > let go of their=20 > preconceptions," said Jannaman of Hendersonville, Tenn. "The blind = > drivers actually performed better=20 > than their sighted counterparts. An overwhelming sense of accomplishment = > overcame me as I simply=20 > rode along while Wes and Mark successfully navigated the driving course = > without my assistance." > > Early models of the Blind Driver Challenge vehicle relied more on = > technologies for fully autonomous=20 > vehicles, previously developed by Virginia Tech mechanical engineering = > students as part of the DARPA=20 > Urban Challenge. The student team redesigned the vehicle so that the = > blind motorist has complete=20 > control of the driving process, as any sighted driver would. > > This change in approach led to new challenges, including how to = > effectively convey the high=20 > bandwidth of information from the laser sensors scanning the vehicle's = > surrounding environment to=20 > the driver fast enough and accurate enough to allow safe driving. As a = > result, the team developed=20 > non-visual interface technologies, including a vibrating vest for = > feedback on speed, a click counter=20 > steering wheel with audio cues, spoken commands for directional = > feedback, and a unique tactile map=20 > interface that utilizes compressed air to provide information about the = > road and obstacles=20 > surrounding the vehicle. > > Riccobono knows of mock ups and non-working "blind driver car" set-ups = > from the past, but says this=20 > is the first working vehicle to put the blind and visually impaired in = > control of the steering=20 > wheel. "Blind people have brains, the capacity to make decisions," he = > said. "Blind people want to=20 > live independent lives, why would they not want to drive?" > > Even once the technology is perfected, laws now barring the blind from = > driving and public perception=20 > must be changed, Riccobono said. "This is the piece that we know will be = > the most difficult," said=20 > Riccobono, adding that the car must be near-perfected before the = > National Federation of the Blind=20 > can truly push the car to law-makers and the general public. He said = > this effort will take millions=20 > of dollars in development. > > The 2009-10 student team already is planning major changes to the = > technology, including replacing=20 > the dirt buggy vehicle with a fully electric car commonly used by = > traffic officers in downtown city=20 > centers. The all-electric vehicle would reduce the vibration which can = > cause problems to the laser=20 > sensor, and it will provide clean electric power for the computing units = > and that is better for the=20 > environment. > > Hong is a National Science Foundation CAREER Award recipient. He = > received his bachelor's degree in=20 > mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994, = > and his master's and=20 > doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in = > 1999 and 2002, respectively. > > SOURCE > > http://www.newsleader.com/article/20090715/NEWS01/90715001/1002/news01/Va= > .+Tech+designs+vehicle+that+allows+the+blind+to+drive=20