Pavement Lighting Alerts for Pedestrian Proximity Warning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to ensure traffic safety for pedestrians by relying solely on auditory or visual cues from approaching vehicles, particularly when wearing headphones or in low-light conditions, as they may not effectively alert pedestrians to nearby bicycles.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing infrastructure cameras to recognize mobile objects and control pavement lighting devices to output supporting displays, including proximity notifications when relative speed and distance indicate potential collisions, enhancing pedestrian awareness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If auditory information (headphone, earphones) is used to alert pedestrians of approaching vehicles, then traffic safety is improved, but the effectiveness deteriorates when the pedestrian is wearing sound reproduction devices that block auditory cues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces pavement lighting devices as an intermediary between approaching vehicles and pedestrians. Instead of relying on auditory information that may be blocked by headphones, the system uses visual information displayed on the road surface through illuminated markers to alert pedestrians of approaching vehicles, thereby compensating for the loss of auditory information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the auditory warning system (mechanical/acoustic) with a visual warning system using pavement lighting devices. This substitution allows pedestrians wearing sound-blocking devices to receive warnings through visual cues on the road surface rather than through blocked auditory channels.
2Illumination intensity
If bicycle headlights are used to illuminate the road surface for pedestrian awareness, then visibility is improved, but the irradiation range remains too narrow to ensure comprehensive pedestrian awareness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the illumination function between multiple sources: the bicycle's headlight and separate pavement lighting devices embedded in the road surface. The pavement lighting devices are segmented into multiple markers distributed along the road, collectively providing a wider irradiation range than a single headlight source.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces pavement lighting devices as intermediary illumination sources between the bicycle and the pedestrian. These devices receive information about approaching vehicles and actively illuminate the road surface in areas that may not be covered by the bicycle's headlight, thereby expanding the effective irradiation range.
3Reliability
If infrastructure cameras and pavement lighting devices are used to provide visual alerts, then pedestrian awareness is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes existing infrastructure components serve multiple functions. Infrastructure cameras originally used for general surveillance are repurposed to detect mobile objects and provide information to the pavement lighting system. Pavement lighting devices originally for illumination are enhanced to also provide warning functions by displaying visual alerts about approaching vehicles.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables infrastructure components to serve themselves by using existing resources. The pavement lighting devices use power and control infrastructure already present in the road, and the cameras utilize existing communication networks, reducing the need for entirely new dedicated systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile object included in an image of an infrastructure camera is recognized. A supporting display for supporting a movement of a mobile object is output from a pavement lighting device based on the recognition information. When the recognition information includes recognition information of first and second mobile objects, a relative speed of the second mobile object in a movement direction of the first mobile object and a distance between these mobile objects are calculated based on the recognition information. When the relative speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined speed and the distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, proximity notification information for notifying the first mobile object of the approach of the second mobile object is generated. When the proximity notification information is generated, the supporting display corresponding to the proximity notification information is output from the pavement lighting device.