(28 Sep 2016) Former Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt has done a lot since an accident left him paralyzed from the neck down.
He runs a racing team and a foundation. He's raced a sailboat using his chin. But the man who once raced in the Indianapolis 500 hasn't been able to drive around his neighborhood, until now.
On Wednesday (September 28), Schmidt is set to receive the first license restricted to an autonomous vehicle in the U.S.
The license allows him to drive on Nevada roads in his specially modified Corvette, which requires no hands on its steering wheel or feet on its pedals.
The car uses four cameras to monitor his head motions and transmit his movements to the tires.
He breathes into a tube to accelerate, and sucks the air out when he wants to brake.
Fully driverless cars - several steps beyond the car that Schmitt is driving - are expected to reach U.S. roads in the next five to ten years, and the disabled community is eager for their arrival.
More than 4 million people in the U.S. need assistance with daily tasks like eating or leaving home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Others have less severe disabilities but are still unable to drive.
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