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Originally Posted by MikeWasHere05
I'd be more than willing to help out with a project like this, so if you need any programmers gimme a call =)
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This is one of the things which I really love about FIRST: post a problem and all these great people jump at the chance to solve it! I don't know where this is going yet, but I will definitely keep you in the loop.
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Originally Posted by JamesBrown
The thing that amazed me the most is that one night when the bot was at school he and I went through the whole robot and he felt each piece, this was about 4 weeks ago and he still can relativly accurately describe parts on the bot to ask me questions about it.
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It sounds like the experience made a big impression on your friend. It also sounds like he has a real interest in robotics.
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It seems like a shame to lose someone with this ability and with this desire to get involved. However many people are tending to discourage him, one of our mentors was questioning why I was l;etting him touch it..
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Since I don't know your team's situation, I shouldn't judge. However, Cary told us that one of the challenges he had to overcome were the teachers who tried to dissuade him from pursuing his interest in chemistry. There is a common perception that the blind are not capable of functioning in areas like science and engineering.
I don't know what blind people are or are not capable of, so I don't think I should be setting limits, except to prevent someone from being injured. I suppose that highly visually-oriented tasks, CAD for example, might not make the best place for him to start, but there are a number of areas where he could probably be productive. Programming, strategy, brainstorming and design conceptualization are all primarily mental activities. While he might not be as productive as sighted people at things like mechanical assembly and wiring, I'd think he could probably do those things with assistance.
If you are up for the challenge, maybe you could take your friend under your wing and help him show the rest of the team that he can make a contribution. Most likely the doubters are just reacting like most people do when confronted with the unknown - with doubt and imagining the worst.