A video went viral back in 2012 that displayed amazing modified traffic lights, which allowed the pedestrians who were waiting for green light to play Ping Pong with the person on other side of the road. It was called StreetPong and allowed pedestrians to pass time while waiting and keep anxious crossers from trying to cross the road early.
Amelie Künzler, Holger Michel and Sandro Angel – the three designers – have been working ever since this technology went viral on the internet to improve it further and after 2 years of collaborating with a number of design firms and traffic experts, the team has managed to come up with a functional gadget and has even managed to get an approval from the city of Hildesheim in Germany.
The game has been re-branded and is now called ActiWait with the game being a modified version of the StreetPong. While you play and the score tallies (touchscreen based game) you can see how much time is left before the signal turns green. Once the signal turns green the game is finished and a display of thumb is shown to let the players know that they can cross the road safely. A timer till the green light goes off is also displayed.
The team is further working on developing it and installing it on more traffic lights by using the funds that will be raised from an Indiegogo campaign that is being run as of now. The expected improvements include ambient lighting, Wi-Fi connection and a feature that will allow the device to display local news and weather while providing city information and navigation. What are your thoughts on this innovative gadget?
