Ex-Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt is set to become the first paralyzed person in the United States to receive a restricted driver’s license for a semi-autonomous car in Nevada.
A quadriplegic after a test crash in 2000 , Schmidt owns the Verizon IndyCar Series team and will soon jump behind the wheel of a special 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray modified by Arrow Electronics on public streets.
Arrow has developed the car to allow Schmidt to accelerate by exhaling into a tube mounted to a specially-designed headset. He will then be able to inhale to operate the brakes and have the ability to steer the car thanks to four infrared cameras that constantly monitor his head movements. Schmidt has driven the vehicle on multiple occasions since work started on it back in 2014. In fact, he has piloted it at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Long Beach Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500. Now, he will be able to drive it on the roads of Nevada.
In a statement, Nevada DMV officials told the Las Vegas Review Journal “Nevada is leading the nation in promoting autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle technologies that can bring mobility and independence to people with physical disabilities, including our wounded warriors.”
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