Car versus pedestrian accidents are a huge public safety problem, particularly in densely populated cities. Pedestrians stepping out into traffic from between parked vehicles are to blame many times, as are distracted drivers who don’t yield the right of way to pedestrians. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have developed a concept that could warn drivers before a pedestrian steps into their car’s path.

The Ko-TAG system is a two-part system, with one part being in the car and transmitting radio signals. The other half of the system depends on the pedestrian carrying a transponder that would communicate his or her location to oncoming vehicles. Since just about everyone carries a cell phone these days, the creators of Ko-TAG figured that would be the perfect place to stash the second half of the system.

With the Ko-TAG in place, the driver can be alerted to the presence of a pedestrian who is likely to step into the street and cause a potential collision. If a collision is so close that it seems unavoidable, the system can apply the car’s emergency brake. There are some fail-safes built in, such as the system measuring the pedestrian’s speed and direction, so that someone standing on a corner waiting for a walk signal won’t trigger the Ko-TAG’s emergency braking system.

The post Safer Stepping: System to Avoid Car/Pedestrian Collisions first appeared on Gajitz.

A car versus pedestrian accident is a nightmare for everyone involved, but new technology from Volvo could reduce the likelihood of the pedestrian sustaining serious injuries. The car company recently began selling the world’s first external airbag-equipped car. The Australian version of the Volvo V40 features a pedestrian protection system. This system consists of sensors in the front of the car and an airbag that pops up from under the hood.

The sensors detect when a pedestrian has been hit, which in turn causes the external airbag to pop up instantly. The airbag is meant to protect the pedestrian from head injuries, which are the most common cause of death in car versus pedestrian accidents. Pedestrians will be protected in the case of an accident with a Volvo V40, but the driver will have to fork over $3000 (Australian) to replace the setup after an accident occurs and the airbag deploys.

The post A Safer Sedan: Volvo Offers First Car With Pedestrian Airbag first appeared on Gajitz.

What do you do when you’re waiting to cross the street? Most of us look around, get lost in thought or maybe strike up a conversation with an attractive fellow pedestrian. At one awesome traffic light in Germany, walkers can fill those seconds with a short game of Pong against someone waiting at the opposite corner.

A small touchscreen device on the traffic light pole counts down the time left before the light changes. At the same time, it lets you control a paddle that bounces a virtual ball across the screen. Keep the ball from hitting the “wall” on your side while trying to hit the “wall” on your opponent’s side to win.

We don’t speak German so we aren’t sure whether an explanation for the game is given in the short video. Perhaps it’s a safety measure to encourage pedestrians to wait at the corner rather than trying to dash across the street between cars. Or maybe it’s just there to add a bit of unexpected fun to pedestrians’ days.

The post Crosswalk Craziness: Traffic Light Comes With a Short Game first appeared on Gajitz.

Just in case that whole autonomous robot car thing never actually happens (still crossing our fingers), this concept may help drivers pay attention to pedestrians and avoid mercilessly plowing them down in crosswalks. If those drivers are intimidated by some red laser beams, that is. This idea, from South Korean designer Hanyoung Lee, involves projecting laser images of the pedestrians who are in crosswalks.

The goal is to make the pedestrians more noticeable, and to cut down on drivers who run through crosswalks without paying attention to whether they are about to run into one of them. In theory, it sounds like a good idea. What’s not to like about keeping pedestrians safe? But we imagine that having bright red lights running in front of drivers’ field of vision may not be the wisest public safety choice – especially when those lights happen to be lasers.

It also stands to reason that the urban landscape would become overly clogged with visual information if this idea were ever realized. But, like we’ve mentioned before, not all designs are meant to be made into reality. Some are a jumping-off point for other ideas which could eventually change the way the world works. And improving crosswalk safety is a noble cause, so we’re hoping to see more possible crosswalk improvements pop up.

The post Don’t Cross Me: High-Tech Ultra Visible Crosswalk Design first appeared on Gajitz.