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Hybrid vehicles, participants needed for research

Oct. 6, 2009

KALAMAZOO--A research team at Western Michigan University needs to borrow 2008 or 2009 hybrid vehicles, with or without their owners as drivers, for studies involving the detection of hybrid vehicles by pedestrians who rely on hearing rather than vision.

Professors from the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies and the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering who are conducting the research also are asking for blind pedestrians to serve as participants in the study. Hybrid vehicles are typically very quiet, which creates safety concerns for pedestrians with impaired vision.

Borrowed vehicles would be needed for four- to five-hour periods on Oct. 17-18, with back-up dates being Oct. 24-25. Owners may volunteer to participate for one or both sessions, if needed. Owners will be compensated for their vehicle use. Participants who are blind also will be compensated for their time.

For more information or to volunteer your hybrid SUV or car, contact Dr. Robert Wall Emerson at robert.wall@wmich.edu or (269) 387-3072 or Dr. Koorosh Naghshineh at koorosh.naghshineh@wmich.edu or (269) 276-3431.

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Media contact: Deanne Puca, (269) 387-8400, deanne.puca@wmich.edu

WMU News
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