Quadraplegic Drives a IndyCar

Schmidt has been paralyzed in 2000 in a car accident. He unable to use his arms or leggs, he can not accelerate or brake, even move the steering wheel, but recently he can drives in a modified car in Sonama Grand Prix road cours. He as part of Arrow Electronics Semi-Autonomous Motorcar (SAM) project, the high-speed demonstration showcased their recently-developed integrated semi-autonomous driving technology.

The modifications in a Corvette C7 Stingray allow Schmidt to make sharp left and right turns, navigate hills and synchronize acceleration and braking more precisely. It is equipped with advanced electronics system. The integrated technology integrated in SAM car include:

• Infrared camera system: Sensors mounted on Schmidt’s hat connect to infrared cameras mounted on the dashboard that detect his head-tilt motions in order to steer.

• Sip/puff system: Using breath control, Schmidt can accelerate and brake the vehicle by sucking or blowing into a tube attached to a Freescale-integrated pressure sensor.

• Computer system: A central processor from Freescale collects signals from the camera and the sip/puff system to control the car’s acceleration, braking and steering.

• GPS technology: A guidance system keeps the car within 1.5 meters from the edge of the track, providing Schmidt with a virtual envelope about 10 meters wide within which he steers.

• Safety system: A set of software algorithms ensure the commands sent to the computer system are real and defined within the vehicle’s limits.

• IoT connectivity: An Arrow 4G-LTE IoT gateway running Windows 10 Enterprise on an Intel server collects, streams and stores API-accessible data in Microsoft’s Azure cloud service.

In 2014 demonstration Schmidt drives four laps in the Corvette at top speed of 156km/h. After in the recently demonstration he drives at 172km/h.

This project objective is not tranfer the technology to make a autonomous car but rather allow driving for people with disabilities.