Innovators around the world are coming up with all sorts of gimmicks to get people to stay put at intersections instead of risking their lives by trying to run the red light, or zigzag in-between traffic.

In Germany, some students came up with a concept for StreetPong, a device that allows pedestrians to entertain each other with a game of Pong from across the street while waiting for their turn to cross. After two years of development, StreetPong finally hit the streets.

The devices have been renamed ActiWait, and were installed at city intersections in Hildesheim, Germany.

The display on the ActiWait device, allows players to interact with each other from across the street with a game of Pong until it is safe to cross. The numbers on the screen acts as both a timer for the game, and a countdown for when the pedestrian light will change to green.

The project's founders, Amelie Kunzler and Sandro Engel, have set up their own company called Urban Invention, and hope to have similar devices installed at busy street in Lyon, Oslo, and everywhere else around the world.

Other European designers also came up with different out-of-the box ideas to keep impatient pedestrians safe from cars at stoplights in 2014. In Lisbon, teams set up Dancing Crosswalks which displayed a dancing red man at the intersection based on real time dance moves of volunteers.

According to Urban Invention's website, the team is already being contacted by people from France, China, Norway, and South America to get the ActiWait device installed in their cities.

The Indiegogo campaign for ActiWait describes the project as the "first gamificated traffic light in the world."

Future planned additions to the ActiWait device may also include traffic and weather updates on the screen, breaking news, surveys, ads, navigation, and other useful information to keep pedestrians busy and having fun as they wait their turn to safely cross the street.

Streetpong an der HAWK in Hildesheim, die Eröffnung! from HAWK Hildesheim on Vimeo.

ⓒ 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Join the Discussion