Schmidt turns laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

SPEEDWAY, IND. -- In 2000, Sam Schmidt was told by doctors that he would never walk again after a racing accident rendered him a quadriplegic.

Sunday, he used a semi-autonomous car (SAM) to drive laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“Racing has been a dream of mine since I was 5 years old,” Schmidt said in a release by the track. “I thought I’d never be able to race again after my accident, but this vehicle made it possible.”

Schmidt, the owner of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, piloted his SAM Corvette C7 Stingray around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway before qualifying took place for Indianapolis 500 pole day. His best lap time had him average 73.712 mph using the movements of his head to guide the car.

The Stingray was modified with an electronics system and human-to-machine interface that allowed Schmidt to drive. The car was equipped with an infrared camera system with four sensors connected to Schmidt’s hat working with four infrared cameras mounted on the car’s dashboard.

The infrared cameras were able to detect the tilt of Schmidt’s head to steer and accelerate the Corvette. Braking was controlled with a bite sensor kept in Schmidt’s mouth that would slow the car when Schmidt bit down.

A GPS served as a guideline around the track for safety, and it was designed to keep the car from getting too close to the edge of the track. Schmidt was able to steer the car within 1.5 meters of the track’s outside and inside barriers.

The idea to have Schmidt pilot the car took about a year to develop. It was not revealed that the event would take place at the track until after final practice for qualifying, which took place during the weekend.

The SAM system was a project formed by Arrow Electronics, Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, the Air Force Research Laborator and Falci Adaptive Motorsports. Colorado Neurosurgeon Scott Falci spearheaded the movement to put a disabled racing driver on the racetrack again.

“While I was in the SAM vehicle, I was unencumbered by my disability,” Schmidt said. “It was the most normal I have felt in nearly 15 years. It was amazing.”