The National Federation of the Blind developed the Blind Driver Challenge which calls upon developers and innovators to create interface technologies to allow those who are blind to drive a car independently. Held at the Daytona Speedway as a pre-race event for the Rolex 24, a blind driver was to independently drive the vehicle down the main straightaway, onto the road course.
A person blind from birth was able to drive a vehicle outfitted with sensor technology to give him an understanding of the environment generated by a combination of Allied Vision’s cameras, LIDAR systems, and GPS localization systems. The fusion of all this data was able to give this person the ability to ‘see’ the environment as a person would be able to see through their own eyes.”
