Development of a Semi-Autonomous Vehicle Operable by the Visually-Impaired

This paper presents the development of a system that will allow a visually-impaired person to safely operate a motor vehicle. Named the Blind Driver Challenge, the purpose of the project is to improve the independence of the visually-impaired by allowing them to travel at their convenience. The system development is targeted to be deployed on Team Victor Tango's DARPA Urban Challenge vehicle "Odin." T he system uses tactile and audio interfaces to relay information to the driver about vehicle heading and speed. The driver then corrects his steering and speed using a joystick. The tactile interface is a modified massage chair, which directs the driver to accelerate or brake. The audio interface is a pair of headphones, which directs the driver where to turn. Testing software has been developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the system by tracking the users' ability to follow signals generated by the Blind Driver Challenge code. With these results the team hopes to improve the system, and eventually through a partnership with the Virginia School for the Blind, expand testing to include the visually-impaired.