We live in a world where most aspects of our lives are becoming smart. We have smartphones, smartwatches, smart glasses and several other ‘smart’ devices to make our lives easier. The Smart Crossing is the latest addition to this list, which aims to make road crossings smarter and safer by using big digital displays embedded in the ground.
The 22 metre-long smart road surface utilises computer vision (lots of sensors and clever algorithms) to learn the position of pedestrians and motorists. It then figures out the safest way to keep all of them going without hurting each other. The display suggests pedestrians the right time to cross the street with brightly rendered zebra crossings, the size of which can be changed according to the number of people at the crossing.
The markings also work for motorists and cyclists, suggesting them to stop where it would be safe. It even senses if an accident is bound to take place and changes the road signs accordingly. The concept has been developed by British insurance firm Direct Line and can work autonomously. While it’s a good concept that can surely improve the safety quotient on the road, the question is whether it will work in developing countries like India where the conditions are harsher than those of British roads.
