Many believe driving is an activity solely reserved for those who can see. A blind person driving a vehicle safely and independently was thought to be an impossible task, until now. Hello, my name is Dennis Hong, and we're bringing freedom and independence to the blind by building a vehicle for the visually impaired.
Mnogi vjeruju kako je vožnja aktivnost isključivo rezervirana za one koji vide. Slijepa osoba koja vozi auto sigurno i samostalno je bilo okarakterizirano kao nemoguća misija, sve do sada. Dobar dan, moje ime je Dennis Hong i donosimo slobodu i samostalnost slijepcima izrađujući vozila za slabovidne osobe.
So before I talk about this car for the blind, let me briefly tell you about another project that I worked on called the DARPA Urban Challenge. Now this was about building a robotic car that can drive itself. You press start, nobody touches anything, and it can reach its destination fully autonomously. So in 2007, our team won half a million dollars by placing third place in this competition. So about that time, the National Federation of the Blind, or NFB, challenged the research committee about who can develop a car that lets a blind person drive safely and independently. We decided to give it a try, because we thought, "Hey, how hard could it be?" We have already an autonomous vehicle. We just put a blind person in it and we're done, right? (Laughter) We couldn't have been more wrong. What NFB wanted was not a vehicle that can drive a blind person around, but a vehicle where a blind person can make active decisions and drive. So we had to throw everything out the window and start from scratch.
Dakle, prije nego počnem pričati o tom autu za slijepe osobe, dopustite mi da vam ukratko ispričam o drugom projektu na kojem sam radio a koji se zove DARPA urbani izazov. Sada, tu se radilo o izradi robotskog auta koji može voziti sam. Pritisnete start, nitko ne dira ništa i dolazi do svoje destinacije potpuno samostalno. Stoga je 2007. godine naš tim osvojio pola milijuna dolara osvojivši treće mjesto na tom natjecanju. Dakle, u približno isto vrijeme, Nacionalna federacija slijepih, ili NFS, postavila je izazov istražnom odboru o tome tko može razviti auto koji omogućava slijepim osobama da voze sigurno i samostalno. Odlučili smo pokušati, jer smo pomislili, hej, kako teško to može biti. Već imamo autonomno vozilo. Samo stavimo slijepu osobu unutra i gotovi smo, zar ne? (Smijeh) Nismo mogli više pogriješiti. Ono što je NFS želio nije bilo vozilo koje može voziti slijepu osobu okolo, već vozilo gdje slijepa osoba može donositi aktivne odluke i voziti. Stoga smo sve morali izbaciti van i početi ispočetka.
So to test this crazy idea, we developed a small dune buggy prototype vehicle to test the feasibility. And in the summer of 2009, we invited dozens of blind youth from all over the country and gave them a chance to take it for a spin. It was an absolutely amazing experience. But the problem with this car was it was designed to only be driven in a very controlled environment, in a flat, closed-off parking lot -- even the lanes defined by red traffic cones.
Kako bi testirali tu ludu ideju, razvili smo mali prototip vozila za vožnju po dinama kako bi testirali njegovu provedivost. A u ljeto 2009. godine pozvali smo desetke slijepih mladih osoba iz cijele zemlje i dali im šansu da se provozaju u tom vozilu. Bilo je to potpuno nevjerojatno iskustvo. Ali problem s tim autom je bio to što je on bio dizajniran da ga se vozi samo u strogo kontroliranom okolišu, na ravnom zatvorenom parkiralištu -- čak i trake su bile definirane crvenim prometnim stošcima.
So with this success, we decided to take the next big step, to develop a real car that can be driven on real roads. So how does it work? Well, it's a rather complex system, but let me try to explain it, maybe simplify it. So we have three steps. We have perception, computation and non-visual interfaces. Now obviously the driver cannot see, so the system needs to perceive the environment and gather information for the driver. For that, we use an initial measurement unit. So it measures acceleration, angular acceleration -- like a human ear, inner ear. We fuse that information with a GPS unit to get an estimate of the location of the car. We also use two cameras to detect the lanes of the road. And we also use three laser range finders. The lasers scan the environment to detect obstacles -- a car approaching from the front, the back and also any obstacles that run into the roads, any obstacles around the vehicle.
Dakle, s tim uspjehom, odlučili smo poduzeti idući veliki korak, razviti pravi auto koji može voziti po pravim cestama. Dakle, kako to funkcionira? Pa, to je prilično kompleksan sustav, ali dopustite mi da ga objasnim, možda ga i pojasnim. Dakle imamo tri koraka. Imamo percepciju, računanje i ne vizualna sučelja. Sada, očito je kako vozač ne može vidjeti stoga sustav mora vidjeti okolinu i prikupiti informaciju za vozača. Za to, koristimo početnu mjernu jedinicu. Dakle, mjeri ubrzanje, kutno ubrzanje -- poput ljudskog uha, unutarnjeg uha. Spojimo te podatke s GPS jedinicom kako bi dobili procjenu lokacije auta. Isto tako koristimo dvije kamere kako bismo detektirali dvije trake ceste. I isto tako koristimo tri laserska daljinomjera. Laseri skeniraju okolinu kako bi detektirali prepreke -- auto koji se približava sprijeda, odostraga i isto tako bilokakve prepreke koje se pojave na cesti, bilokakve prepreke oko vozila.
So all this vast amount of information is then fed into the computer, and the computer can do two things. One is, first of all, process this information to have an understanding of the environment -- these are the lanes of the road, there's the obstacles -- and convey this information to the driver. The system is also smart enough to figure out the safest way to operate the car. So we can also generate instructions on how to operate the controls of the vehicle. But the problem is this: How do we convey this information and instructions to a person who cannot see fast enough and accurate enough so he can drive? So for this, we developed many different types of non-visual user interface technology. So starting from a three-dimensional ping sound system, a vibrating vest, a click wheel with voice commands, a leg strip, even a shoe that applies pressure to the foot. But today we're going to talk about three of these non-visual user interfaces.
Zatim je sva ta silna količina informacija proslijeđena u računalo, a računalo može učiniti dvije stvari. Jedna je, kao prvo, procesuirati te informacije kako bi razumijeli okolinu -- to su trake na cesti, to su prepreke -- i prenesti te informacije vozaču. Sustav je ujedno i dovoljno pametan da dokuči najsigurniji način upravljanja autom. Dakle, možemo isto tako proizvesti upute kako upravljati komandama vozila. Ali problem je ovaj: Kako prenijeti tu informaciju i upute osobi koja ne može vidjeti dovoljno brzo i dovoljno precizno da on može voziti? Za to smo razvili puno različitih vrsta tehnologija nevizualnih korisničkih sučelja. Dakle, od trodimenzionalnog zvučnog sustava fijukanja, vibracijskog prsluka, klika kotača s glasovnim upravljanjem, trake za nogu, čak i cipele koja prenosi pristisak na stopalo. Ali danas ćemo pričati o tri od tih nevizualnih korisničkih sučelja.
Now the first interface is called a DriveGrip. So these are a pair of gloves, and it has vibrating elements on the knuckle part so you can convey instructions about how to steer -- the direction and the intensity. Another device is called SpeedStrip. So this is a chair -- as a matter of fact, it's actually a massage chair. We gut it out, and we rearrange the vibrating elements in different patterns, and we actuate them to convey information about the speed, and also instructions how to use the gas and the brake pedal. So over here, you can see how the computer understands the environment, and because you cannot see the vibration, we actually put red LED's on the driver so that you can see what's happening. This is the sensory data, and that data is transferred to the devices through the computer.
Prvo sučelje se zove DriveGrip. To je par rukavica i ima vibracijske elemente na zglobnom dijelu, tako da možete prenijeti upute o tome kako upravljati -- smjer i intenzitet. Druga naprava se zove SpeedStrip. Dakle, to je sjedalo -- u stvari, to je zapravo sjedalo za masažu. Izvadili smo ga van i premijestili smo vibrirajuće elemente u različite obrasce. I uključujemo ih kako bi prenijeli informaciju o brzini i o uputama kako koristiti papučice za gas i kočnicu. Dakle, ovdje možete vidjeti kako računalo razumije okolinu. I jer ne možete vidjeti vibraciju, zapravo smo stavili crvene LED-ice na vozača, tako da možete vidjeti što se događa. Ovo su senzorski podaci i ti podaci se prenose do uređaja preko računala.
So these two devices, DriveGrip and SpeedStrip, are very effective. But the problem is these are instructional cue devices. So this is not really freedom, right? The computer tells you how to drive -- turn left, turn right, speed up, stop. We call this the "backseat-driver problem." So we're moving away from the instructional cue devices, and we're now focusing more on the informational devices. A good example for this informational non-visual user interface is called AirPix. So think of it as a monitor for the blind. So it's a small tablet, has many holes in it, and compressed air comes out, so it can actually draw images. So even though you are blind, you can put your hand over it, you can see the lanes of the road and obstacles. Actually, you can also change the frequency of the air coming out and possibly the temperature. So it's actually a multi-dimensional user interface. So here you can see the left camera, the right camera from the vehicle and how the computer interprets that and sends that information to the AirPix. For this, we're showing a simulator, a blind person driving using the AirPix. This simulator was also very useful for training the blind drivers and also quickly testing different types of ideas for different types of non-visual user interfaces. So basically that's how it works.
Dakle, ove dvije naprave, DriveGrip i SpeedStrip, su jako učinkovite. Ali problem je što su to uređaji za davanje instrukcija. Dakle, to nije zapravo sloboda, zar ne? Računalo vam govori kako da vozite -- skreni lijevo, skreni desno, ubrzaj, stani. Zovemo to problem vozača na stražnjem sjedalu. Stoga se odmičemo od uređaja za davanje instrukcija i sada se više fokusiramo na informacijske uređaje. Dobar primjer tog informacijskog nevizualnog korisničkog sučelja se naziva AirPix. Dakle, zamislite to kao monitor za slijepe. Dakle, to je mali tablet koji ima puno rupa u sebi a komprimiran zrak izlazi van, tako da zapravo može vući slike. Dakle, čak i ako ste slijepi, možete staviti ruku iznad njega i možete vidjeti cestovne trake i prepreke. Zapravo, možete ujedno i promijeniti frekvenciju zraka koji izlazi van i temperaturu. Dakle, to je zapravo multidimenzionalno korisničko sučelje. Ovdje možete vidjeti lijevu kameru, desnu kameru vozila i kako računalo tumači to i šalje tu informaciju AirPixu. Za to, prikazujemo simulator, slijepu osobu koja vozi koristeći AirPix. Taj simulator je bio ujedno i jako koristan za obučavanje slijepih vozača i vrlo brzo za testiranje različitih vrsta ideja za različite vrste nevizualnih korisničkih sučelja. Dakle, tako u osnovi funkcionira.
So just a month ago, on January 29th, we unveiled this vehicle for the very first time to the public at the world-famous Daytona International Speedway during the Rolex 24 racing event. We also had some surprises. Let's take a look.
Dakle, prije samo mjesec dana, 29. siječnja, otkrili smo to vozili po prvi puta javnosti na svjetski poznatom međunarodnom trkalištu Daytona tijekom Rolex 24 utrke. Isto tako smo imali neka iznenađenja. Pogledajmo.
(Music)
(Glazba)
(Video) Announcer: This is an historic day in January. He's coming up to the grandstand, fellow Federationists.
(Video) Spiker: Ovo je povijesni dan [nejasno]. Dolazi do tribina, kolega Federistas.
(Cheering)
(Navijanje)
(Honking)
(Trubljenje)
There's the grandstand now. And he's [unclear] following that van that's out in front of him. Well there comes the first box. Now let's see if Mark avoids it. He does. He passes it on the right. Third box is out. The fourth box is out. And he's perfectly making his way between the two. He's closing in on the van to make the moving pass. Well this is what it's all about, this kind of dynamic display of audacity and ingenuity. He's approaching the end of the run, makes his way between the barrels that are set up there.
Evo i tribine. I on [nejasno] slijedeći taj kombi koji se nalazi ispred njega. Evo dolazi i prva kutija. Da vidimo hoće li je Mark izbjeći. Hoće. Obilazi je s desna. Treća kutija je vani. Četvrta kutija je vani. A on savršeno prolazi između njih dvije. Približava se kombiju kako bi ga pretekao. Dakle, o tome se radi, dinamičan prikaz smjelosti i genijalnosti. Približava se kraju staze, prolazi između bačvi koje su postavljene tamo.
(Honking)
(Trubljenje)
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
Dennis Hong: I'm so happy for you. Mark's going to give me a ride back to the hotel.
Dennis Hong: Tako sam sretan zbog tebe. Mark će me odvesti natrag u hotel.
Mark Riccobono: Yes.
Mark Riccobono: Da.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
DH: So since we started this project, we've been getting hundreds of letters, emails, phone calls from people from all around the world. Letters thanking us, but sometimes you also get funny letters like this one: "Now I understand why there is Braille on a drive-up ATM machine." (Laughter) But sometimes -- (Laughter) But sometimes I also do get -- I wouldn't call it hate mail -- but letters of really strong concern: "Dr. Hong, are you insane, trying to put blind people on the road? You must be out of your mind." But this vehicle is a prototype vehicle, and it's not going to be on the road until it's proven as safe as, or safer than, today's vehicle. And I truly believe that this can happen.
DH: Dakle, otkako smo započeli s tim projektom, dobivamo stotine pisama, emailova, telefonskih poziva od ljudi iz cijelog svijeta. Pisma zahvale, ali ponekad dobijemo i smiješna pisma poput ovog: "Sada razumijem zašto postoji Braillevo pismo na "drive in" bankomatu." (Smijeh) Ali ponekad -- (Smijeh) Ali ponekad isto tako dobijem i -- ne bih to nazvao pisma mržnje -- već pisma jako velike zabrinutosti: Dr. Hong, jeste li vi ludi, pokušavajući staviti slijepe ljude na cestu? Vi mora da ste skrenuli." Ali to vozilo je prototip i neće ići na cestu tako dugo dok se ne dokaže kako je sigurno, ili sigurnije, od današnjih vozila. I doista vjerujem kako se to može dogoditi.
But still, will the society, would they accept such a radical idea? How are we going to handle insurance? How are we going to issue driver's licenses? There's many of these different kinds of hurdles besides technology challenges that we need to address before this becomes a reality. Of course, the main goal of this project is to develop a car for the blind. But potentially more important than this is the tremendous value of the spin-off technology that can come from this project. The sensors that are used can see through the dark, the fog and rain. And together with this new type of interfaces, we can use these technologies and apply them to safer cars for sighted people. Or for the blind, everyday home appliances -- in the educational setting, in the office setting. Just imagine, in a classroom a teacher writes on the blackboard and a blind student can see what's written and read using these non-visual interfaces. This is priceless. So today, the things I've showed you today, is just the beginning.
Ali ipak, hoće li društvo, hoće li oni prihvatiti tako radikalnu ideju? Kako ćemo riješiti osiguranje? Kako ćemo izdati vozačke dozvole? Postoji mnogo tih različitih vrsta prepreka pokraj tehnoloških izazova koje moramo riješiti prije nego što to postane stvarnost. Naravno, glavni cilj ovog projekta je razviti auto za slijepe osobe. Ali potencijalno još važnije od toga je ogromna vrijednost nove tehnologije koja proizađe iz tog projekta. Senzori koji su upotrijebljeni mogu vidjeti kroz mrak, maglu i kišu. I zajedno s tim novim vrstama sučelja, možemo koristiti te tehnologije i primjeniti ih sigurnijim autima za ljude s vidom. Ili za slijepe, svakodnevni kućanski aparati -- u edukacijskom okruženju, u uredskom okruženju. Samo zamislite, u učionici učitelj piše na ploču a slijepi student može vidjeti što je napisano i može čitati koristeći ta nevizualna sučelja. To je neprocjenjivo. Dakle danas, stvari koje sam vam danas pokazao samo su početak.
Thank you very much.
Puno vam hvala.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)