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

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.

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