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Quadriplegic former Indy Racing driver takes to the wheel again: Modified Corvette enables him to steer using his head and brake by 'sipping' on a straw

Sam Schmidt was paralysed from the neck down after a racing accident
He has now driven a modified Corvette Stingray around race tracks
Modified car includes an infrared camera system, a sip/puff system, a computer system, GPS technology and a safety system
Driver wears a hat with sensors attached so the car an translate his head movements into steering, while 'sipping' on a straw lets him brake

Published: 06:30 EST, 7 July 2015 | Updated: 06:41 EST, 7 July 2015

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A modified Corvette loaded with sensors and cameras allows a quadriplegic former Indy Racing League driver to race again by turning his head to steer and ‘sipping’ on a straw to brake.

Sam Schmidt, who was paralysed from the neck down after crashing during testing in Orlando in 2000, used the semi autonomous car to navigate the famous twists and turns of Long Beach Grand Prix road course track at 80 mph (129km/h).

He drove almost two laps of the 11-turn circuit in the modified 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray, in April, describing the experience as ‘unbelievable’.

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A modified Corvette loaded with sensors and cameras allows a quadriplegic former Indy Racing League driver to control the semi-autonomous car by turning his head to steer (pictured) and ‘sipping’ on a straw to brake

A team at Arrow Electronics in Centennial, Colorado, modified the vehicle so that Mr Schmidt can operate it under racetrack conditions.

It includes an infrared camera system, a sip/puff system, a computer system, GPS technology, and a safety system.

He has to wear a hat fitted with eight infrared sensors so that four infrared cameras mounted on the dashboard can pick up his movements in real-time.

The cameras track his movements in a similar way to how motion capture systems record movement for use in computer animation and Hollywood films.

To steer the car, he simply turns his head and looks at the direction he wanted to travel, so on a curve, that's the apex of the turn.

Sam Schmidt, who was paralysed from the neck down after crashing during testing in Orlando in 2000, used the car to navigate the famous twists and turns of Long Beach Grand Prix (pictured) road course track at 80 mph (129km/h) His hat is fitted with infrared sensors so his movement can be detected by the car's cameras

The car includes an infrared camera system and sensors (illustrated) a sip/puff system, a computer system, GPS technology, and a safety system

To accelerate, Mr Schmidt puffs into a mouthpiece fitted with a Freescale pressure sensor. The car (pictured) responds using a rotary actuator on the gas pedal, so the pedal is pressed down depending on how hard Sam blows, giving him control over the acceleration

Speaking his drive, Mr Schmidt (pictured before accident) said: 'In the IndyCar Series it's a team effort. It's pretty nice to being to drive this car again'

A computer in the car’s boot translates the data from the camera and sensor to a rotary actuator on the steering wheel, pulling the car in the desired direction without any hands on the wheel.

This process takes just one hundredth of a second, according to the company.

To accelerate, Mr Schmidt puffs into a mouthpiece fitted with a Freescale pressure sensor.

The car responds using a rotary actuator on the gas pedal, so the pedal is pressed down depending on how hard Sam blows, giving him control over the acceleration.

The same mouth pressure sensor is used for braking.

'Sipping' on the straw creates a negative pressure that the system translates into breaking.

Arrow said that by combining acceleration and breaking into a single mouth device, the driver gets a more realistic ‘pedal’ response and a smoother ride.

Its upgraded system also lets the driver coast by not sipping or puffing.

Mr Schmidt injured his spinal cord and was diagnosed a quadriplegic in 2000.

Injured racecar driver controls modified corvette by turning head

Mr Schmidt has to wear a hat fitted with eight infrared sensors so that four infrared cameras mounted on the dashboard can pick up his movements in real-time (illustrated). The cameras track his movements in a similar way to how motion capture systems record movement for use in computer animation and Hollywood films

Mr Schmidt injured his spinal cord and was diagnosed a quadriplegic after crashing during testing in Orlando in 2000. He is pictured here in his wheelchair

THE MODIFIED CORVETTE STINGRAY’S FEATURES

Infrared camera system: Four sensors mounted on Mr Schmidt’s hat connect to infrared cameras mounted on the dashboard that read his head tilt motions in order to steerthe car

Sip/puff system: Mr 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 computer made by Freescale and stowed in the car's boot collects signals from the camera and sip/puff system to control the car’s acceleration, braking and steering.

GPS technology: A guidance system keeps the car within five feet (1.5 metres) from the edge of the track, giving Mr Schmidt has a width of approximately 32 feet (10 metres) to steer within.

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

Just one year later he founded Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and his team’s gone on to earn the Indy 500 pole in 2011 as well as winning more Indy lights championships than any other team.

But despite his success as an owner and businessman, Mr Schmidt was desperate to get back behind the wheel and engineers at Arrow began work on the modified car in 2013.

Noel Marshall from the company said: ‘We are giving back that which was taken from him. That is the greatest feeling in the world.’

Speaking about driving the 1.9-mile (3km) road course at Long Beach Grand Prix, Mr Schmidt said: ‘Coming here for 25 years with my parents, I always wanted to race here, but never had the opportunity so it's a really, really special day.

'It's a totally different experience sitting here. There's bumps you don't see from the TV and video games don't do it justice.'

'Being on the stand is not as fun as this...In the IndyCar Series it's a team effort and this is a team effort with this group of engineers. It's pretty nice to being to drive this car again.'

Mr Schmidt reached a top speed of 80 mph (129km/hr) at the track and after some time getting used to the car’s controls, drove on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at over 100 mph (161 km/h).