Dale represents at international summit

Dale Giumelli represented Minda as self-advocate at the International Driverless Vehicle Summit held at the Adelaide Convention Centre last month.

Dale participated in a panel discussion on improving transport accessibility for people with disability and older people, during day two of the summit held at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

He was on the panel with Carers SA Chief Executive David Millitz, Adelaide City Council Chief Adviser to the CEO Steve Harrison, Registrar of Motor Vehicles Tim Harker, Volvo Australia Technical Manager David Pickett and parent advocate Grace Vassalo-Wakefield.

Dale, 21, took a ride in a driverless shuttle around the River Torrens on day one of the summit, and was photographed by The Advertiser for a story on transport and technology.

He also rode in Volvo and Tesla vehicles fitted with Level 2 driverless vehicle technologies. While not completely driverless, in Level 2 systems, the steering and speed of the vehicle are controlled by one or more driver assistance systems but a person is in control of the other elements of driving.

Dale’s rides in the driverless shuttles and Level 2 technology vehicles were raised during the panel discussion.

Dale said he thought driverless vehicles would be great for the future of Adelaide and would be helpful to him personally in getting to work, getting to the footy and getting to various social commitments without having to rely on someone to drive him.

“I think me and this guy can do a deal,” he joked, sitting next to David Pickett from Volvo on the panel. “I enjoyed the Volvo the best!”

During the summit, delegates heard from an array of prominent national and international technology thought leaders, human factor experts, insurance and legal practitioners and regulators from across the driverless vehicle ecosystem.

With a theme of ‘Translating technology to real world deployment’, the event shared the latest innovation developments, pioneering trials and deployment from across Australia and around the world.

Dale works full-time at Laundry and Linen Services at Lonsdale and chairs Minda’s Self-Advocacy Program.

He lives in a beautiful home in the community, not too far from his grandparents Greg and Kate, who attended the summit with Dale. Well done Dale on all your great achievements here at Minda and thank you for representing us at the summit!