National Federation of the Blind
Blind Driver Challenge
Driving Independence
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has issued the Blind Driver Challenge to stimulate the imagination of the brightest minds in engineering and to establish an unparalleled path of nonvisual technology innovation. Be a part of this imaginative venture and help drive a future full of opportunities.
Read the NFB Blind Driver Challenge Summary (Word)
NEWS
Feb. 18, 2010: The Blind Driver Challenge: How Will Virginia Tech's Car for Blind People Affect Society?
Dec. 2009: Driving Independence and Innovation through Imagination: The NFB Blind Driver Challenge
Nov. 16, 2009: Why Shouldn't the Blind Drive?
Nov. 16, 2009: Virginia Tech Students Advancing the Possibilities with SolidWorks 3D CAD Software
July 27, 2009: Retrofitted Car Puts Blind Drivers Behind the Wheel
July 27, 2009: High-Tech Car Lets Blind People Drive
July 23, 2009: Students Build a Car the Blind Can Drive
July 16, 2009: Blind Drivers Take the Wheel in Seeing-eye Buggy
July 16, 2009: Blind Drivers Get Behind the Wheel of Terrain-scanning Car
July 15, 2009: Blind Can Take Wheel With Vehicle Designed by University Engineering Design Team
HISTORY
The NFB Blind Driver Challenge was first formally issued at the opening of the NFB Jernigan Institute on January 30, 2004. However, Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the NFB, had been publically talking about the development of a vehicle drivable by the blind for a number of years prior to the opening of the Institute. While people have speculated for decades about autonomous vehicles, the NFB Blind Driver Challenge presented a paradigm shift.
The NFB Jernigan Institute—the only research and training center developed and directed by the blind themselves—now provides the vehicle for technological innovation that will empower the blind to drive. At the opening of the NFB Jernigan Institute, a mock-up of a vehicle drivable by the blind was on display. Not a vehicle that drives the blind but a vehicle with an innovative interface and feedback system that allows a blind person to make driving decisions.
Since the launch of the NFB Blind Driver Challenge in 2004, the NFB has been working to capture imaginations and create a perceptual shift from autonomous vehicles to vehicles drivable by the blind. The NFB has undertaken efforts to engage universities in the challenge. As of fall 2009,
CHALLENGE HONOR ROLL
The honor roll has been established to acknowledge universities, corporations, or other institutions actively working to tackle the challenge and contribute to the knowledge base.
