Nascar quadraplegic Sam Schmidt reaches 100mph in this tricked out Stingray

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The former racer and IndyCar team owner can control the Corvette using head movements and voice commands

Following a horrible wreck back in 2000, IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt was left paralyzed from the neck down and following the crash, he founded his own racing team, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Now, more than 15 years later, modifications made to his 2014 Corvette will allow him to drive on his own once again and as a result Schmidt will be the first person in the US to receive a license to drive a semi-autonomous vehicle.

The car was modified by Arrow Electronics to respond to head movement, voice commands, and breathing changes. The company has been developing the car since 2014 and worked with the Nevada DMV to clear the way for Schmidt to receive his license again.

 

 

As you can see from the video Schmidt controls the car using a custom headset and acceleration and braking are controlled by inhaling and exhaling while steering is controlled by turning his head side to side.

However, with new stem cell and graphene treatments already showing that they can reverse paralysis one day he might be able to take the wheel for real.

About author

Matthew Griffin

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series. Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future. A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries. Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.

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