Nico Gentry, a 25-year-old manufacturing engineer from Orlando, Florida, is working in the autonomous car industry, where “they’re building the eyes for cars,” as he put it. He works at a LiDAR company called Luminar. LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging; it’s a sensor technology that uses light to measure distance and detect objects, and it’s often called the “eyes” of self-driving cars.
Gentry has always loved cars. “I wanted so badly to get my permit and eventually my driver’s license,” said in a recent interview. But a neurological disorder called nystagmus that affects his eyes means he’s been legally blind since birth.