This summer, as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we have many reasons to celebrate the law’s legacy and achievements, and the future innovation it will inspire.
Over time, the ADA has helped erase misconceptions, as well as physical barriers, in both the workplace and in society. And there’s another reason why so many companies are celebrating the ADA: It’s a testament to American ingenuity, to treating hardship as a creative challenge, and to making peoples’ lives better through innovation.
Technology has played a significant role in the ADA’s success — speech recognition software, closed-captioning and prosthetic limbs now are widely available. But even today, we can dramatically improve people’s mobility, and the independence it brings.
One of the best examples of American ingenuity is a specially modified Corvette C7 Stingray and its driver, Sam Schmidt, who is a quadriplegic.
An IndyCar driver who was disabled in a crash in 2000, Sam never let go of his passion. Less than a year after his accident, he founded Schmidt Peterson Motor Sports, which quickly gained fame and has become one of the most successful teams in the history of the IndyLights series. Even after building a successful business and inspiring others to be the drivers in their own lives, Sam never let go of the dream that he would one day drive again.
Arrow Electronics had already worked with the medical community and disability advocates to build a car that could be driven by a paraplegic. One of the neurosurgeons who advised on that project suggested we try designing a car that a quadriplegic could drive, and shared Sam’s story with us. When we pitched the idea to Sam, he said, “If you build it, I’ll drive it … but only if we can drive 100 mph.”
In 2014, we designed an electronically modified Corvette that Sam can drive using only his head. We call it the SAM Car, for Semi-Autonomous Motorcar. He steers using a helmet with infrared cameras that track his head movements. Using a device at his mouth, he blows air into it to accelerate and sips air out to brake. In June, he hit 105 mph on the challenging Circuit of the Americas speedway in Austin that includes 20 turns and steep hills.
Together, we built a really cool car, but what working with Sam taught us about innovation is even more inspiring.
The SAM Car was built entirely from commercially available components. We bought the Corvette off the lot. The idea of a driver steering with his head came from video games with gesture interfaces and Hollywood’s motion capture techniques. We didn’t invent any new hardware; instead, we took an idea that was possible now, today, and made it practical in less than a year.
Innovation is turning the possible into the practical. We do what all engineers love to do: we solve problems. But, as all engineers will tell you, on any project it’s easy to lose track of the practical solution by trying to meet arcane metrics.
Technology is always exciting, and there are lots of innovative ideas out there. But innovation for innovation’s sake isn’t useful, or even good business. If you don’t have an end goal in mind where the technology is helping somebody, then it won’t be successful.
In the end, it’s not about the technology. It’s not about innovation. It’s about the end goal. That’s why the SAM project is not really about the car, or even about driving.
The challenge for America now is to create technologies that not only move technology forward but solve real-world problems for real people.
That’s why we’re celebrating the ADA. Sam shows us what’s possible, but also that we have more work to do.
Michael J. Long is chairman, president and CEO of Centennial- based Arrow Electronics.
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