A car which can be driven by the people without eyesight could be available by next year, The Telegraph newspaper said here quoting US researchers.

Experts at the National Federation of the Blind and Virginia Tech are working on a prototype equipped with technology that will help a sightless person sit behind the wheel in 2011. The technology, called non-visual interfaces, will guide its driver through traffic by transmitting information about nearby vehicles or objects, the paper said.

Vibrating gloves or streams of compressed air directed towards the driver are among the options for communicating the information needed to avoid collisions and reach a destination.

Advocates for the blind describe the project as a “moon shot”, drawing parallels with President John F Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the moon.

The results will be demonstrated in January on a modified Ford Escape sport utility vehicle at the Daytona International Speedway. The vehicle will use non-visual interfaces to help a blind driver operate the car.