{"id":5633,"date":"2020-01-07T20:51:56","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T02:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5633"},"modified":"2020-01-07T22:20:58","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T04:20:58","slug":"episode-600-reliving-the-ride-autonomous-vehicles-driverless-navigation-and-stepping-into-the-experience-with-liz-bottner-and-michael-colbrunn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5633","title":{"rendered":"Episode 600: Reliving The Ride: Autonomous Vehicles, Driverless Navigation and Stepping into the Experience with Liz Bottner and Michael Colbrunn"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_748\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-5633-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TheRide.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TheRide.mp3\">http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TheRide.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Show Summary:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, it has been a few months since the summer conventions but we got this one coming out right now, and it nearly drove itself right out of the Blind Abilities studio. By the way, this is episode #600, Wow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michael Colbrunn and Liz Bottner reflected back at an experience that made Las Vegas a ride they will never forget.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/aira.io\/\">Aira<\/a>&nbsp;party, Liz and Michael both won the opportunity to be driven back to the hotel across town in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lyft.com\/\">Lift<\/a>&nbsp;provided BMW 3 Series that was fully equipped with autonomous components and the technology to get them through traffic, city roads and without a glitch. The company&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aptiv.com\/\">Aptiv<\/a>&nbsp;has over 70 BMW 3 Series&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lyft.com\/\">Lift<\/a>vehicles on the roads of Las Vegas at any given moment. Gathering data, experience and impressing riders with the state of the art technology and ultimately, influencing public opinion to thousands of tourist from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/aira.io\/\">Aira<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aptiv.com\/\">Aptiv<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lyft.com\/\">Lift<\/a>&nbsp;for creating this experience and thank you Liz and Michael for bringing your experiences back to life on this podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join Liz Bottner, Michael Colbrunn and Jeff Thompson as they relive the moment, the awe and learn how they feel about the future of autonomous vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for listening!<br>You can follow us on Twitter&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/blindabilities\">@BlindAbilities<\/a><br>On the web at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/\">www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a><br>Send us an&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:info@BlindAbilities.com\">email<\/a><br>Get the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/blind-abilities\/id1085849859?l=es&amp;mt=8\">Free Blind Abilities App&nbsp;on the App Store<\/a>and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.blindabilities.android.blind&amp;hl=en_US\">Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/607027582712671\/\">Blind Abilities Community<\/a>on Facebook, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlindAbilities\/\">Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/193468111470902\/\">Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a>and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/assistivetechnologyfortheblind\/\">Assistive Technology Community for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_750\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-5633-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TheRide.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TheRide.mp3\">http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TheRide.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p>http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TheRide.mp3 Show Summary: Yes, it has been a few months since the summer conventions but we got this one coming out right now, and it nearly drove itself right out of the Blind Abilities studio. By the way, this is episode #600, Wow! Michael Colbrunn and Liz Bottner reflected back at an experience that made [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,467],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bapresents","category-technology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-1sR","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3882,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3882","url_meta":{"origin":5633,"position":0},"title":"Introducing Liz Bottner: AT Specialist, Self Advocate, Blind Hockey Player and Aira User (Transcript Provided)","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"August 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Introducing Liz Bottner: AT Specialist, Self Advocate, Blind Hockey Player and Aira User Full Transcript Below. Jeff Thompson sits down for a conversation with Liz bottner. Liz is a dynamic individual who works for the VA as an Assistive Technology (AT) specialist, teaching blinded Veterans about computer technology. Listen as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9117,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=9117","url_meta":{"origin":5633,"position":1},"title":"The Blind Drive: Humanness First, Ambassadorship Second","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"August 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: In this opening episode of The Blind Drive, Jeff Thompson, Liz Bottner, and Tim Schwartz get real about \u201cambassadorship,\u201d authenticity, and living blind life on our own terms. With humor and sharp storytelling\u2014from a \u201cScarlet Letter B\u201d riff to a crosswalk shove gone wrong\u2014they tackle the tension between\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9258,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=9258","url_meta":{"origin":5633,"position":2},"title":"Owning Your Future with State Services for the Blind: Inside the Business Enterprise Program","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"December 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: In this Blind Abilities conversation, Michael Colbrunn shares a compelling, firsthand look at the Business Enterprise Program through State Services for the Blind and how it created a pathway to self-employment, confidence, and long-term growth. Michael never imagined himself as a business owner, but with training, guidance, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BEP&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BEP","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=534"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4043,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=4043","url_meta":{"origin":5633,"position":3},"title":"Meet Michael Colbrunn: Business Enterprise Program Owner\/Operator and Advocate for the Blind (transcript provided)","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"October 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Show Summary: (Full Transcript Below) The Business Enterprise Program (BEP) is a great way for interested Blind\/Visually Impaired clients of their State Agency\/Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) to own their own business and be their own boss. Michael Colbrunn is a business owner in the BEP and joined Jeff Thompson of Blind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BEP&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BEP","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=534"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9452,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=9452","url_meta":{"origin":5633,"position":4},"title":"Riding the Future: Inside Tesla, Waymo, and Zoox\u00a0Autonomous\u00a0Rides with Kevin Chao","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"March 8, 2026","format":"audio","excerpt":"Podcast Summary: In this episode of Blind Abilities, Jeff welcomes Kevin Chao, an early adopter who has taken more than 60 rides in autonomous vehicles across San Francisco and Austin. Kevin shares his firsthand experiences riding in Tesla RoboTaxis, Waymo vehicles, and Amazon\u2019s new Zoox autonomous vehicle\u2014built from the ground\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2631,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=2631","url_meta":{"origin":5633,"position":5},"title":"The Business Enterprise program: Business Ownership Opportunities and a Promising Career","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"May 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Business Enterprise Program (BEP) was established for Blind\/Visually Impaired individuals to create opportunities and careers through food vending services and food and merchandise sales on Federal and state properties. The BEP program is nationwide and if you or anybody you know is interested in owning their own business, wants\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BEP&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BEP","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=534"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5633"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5640,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5633\/revisions\/5640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}