Engineers are often presented with an opportunity to create something they never thought they’d be attempting due to the way humans integrate with technology. Humans are constantly staring down at their smartphones whether it’s the increasingly dangerous texting and driving in a car, or walking down the street, with their eyes glued to the screen.
Engineers in Germany noticed that when people look at their smartphones at traffic lights, they tend to ignore the traffic lights.
According to the Washington Post, the city of Augsburg will be looking into implementing traffic lights built into the pavement. This way, people who are looking down at their phones will see an illuminated pavement and know when it is safe to walk over the road. The light-up pavements have been tested at tram stations in the town, and may lead to further development if proven to be successful.
Stephanie Lermen, a spokeswoman for Augsburg, said: “It creates a whole new level of attention.”
But some of the German residents of the town are not convinced pavements that light up with the colour of the traffic lights are good to have. The greater public are not convinced taxpayer money should be spent on the pavement lights.
Multiple reports in several countries have alluded to the fact that smartphone distraction in public areas is killing humans, which makes the case for engineered solutions for life-saving inventions.
Should other countries follow suit or are the light-up pavements a waste of taxpayer money?