Astro Studios unveils smart road system

February 27 reports that driverless cars do protect passengers in their cars to a certain degree, but from another perspective, who will protect passerby and riders nearby? To date, there have been three solutions available on the market: drone airbags for pedestrians; steering wheels for passengers in the car to have the ultimate decision-making authority; and reticulated streets connected in real time.

In response to this challenge, San Francisco-based Astro Studios developed an intelligent infrastructure system that includes warning lights, street lighting, and instant reaction streets that provide the maximum cushion for pedestrians and vehicles at worst. The initial idea for the system was presented by Astro's creative directors Norio Fujikawa and Alejandro Chavetta. Alejandro firmly believes that driverless cars will give priority to protecting passengers in the car when a danger occurs. Therefore, the city's infrastructure system must provide basic security for other pedestrians.

Designed for cyclists warning lights

Astro Studios proposed that the car lay down a laser projection on the driving route in advance to prevent pedestrians from being in danger due to blind spots. In addition, as for the low-beam and high-beam led car headlights on the front of the car, they were originally intended to prompt others to communicate with the driver. Now Astro has changed its function to inform pedestrians that they are not in the blind spot.

Smart street lighting

Astro envisions that the street glows on its own and uses light to alert pedestrians about the route ahead so that pedestrians can avoid all possible dangers. There is also a way: when the pedestrian intends to cross the street, the street automatically shows a pedestrian crossing, the vehicle can not pass by. "If the car does not have time to change the line, the pedestrian crossing turns red and pedestrians know it can not pass."

Instant response to the street

If both of these warning systems failed, Astro also designed the last layer of protection - an automatic accident prevention device.The first option is to magnetize the road, and if the car discovers it will inevitably hit pedestrians, the magnetized road will absorb the car to its maximum extent.

Currently, we have streets that automatically heat to melt snow and that provide temporary power to electric cars when no electricity is available. At the same time, companies such as 3M are also actively involved in smart streets and road signs, showing that the future is very promising. As Fujikawa said, "As the vehicles are smart, how can not the road evolve?"