Skip to main content

Smart reflector improves pedestrian safety

In collaboration with Finnish plastics manufacturer Coreplast Laitila, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a reflector that can be wirelessly controlled via a mobile phone application. A traditional reflector, carried by a pedestrian and equipped with sensors, LED lights and wireless charging and communication, can be made to blink and alert vehicle drivers when the pedestrian is approaching a dangerous crossing. In the future, researchers say it could communicate directly with smart traf
January 29, 2016 Read time: 1 min
RSS

In collaboration with Finnish plastics manufacturer 8310 Coreplast Laitila, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a reflector that can be wirelessly controlled via a mobile phone application.

A traditional reflector, carried by a pedestrian and equipped with sensors, LED lights and wireless charging and communication, can be made to blink and alert vehicle drivers when the pedestrian is approaching a dangerous crossing. In the future, researchers say it could communicate directly with smart traffic lights or cars to warn, say, a turning truck driver that a pedestrian is in the area of a crossing.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Oregon debuts road user charging to fund transportation projects
    March 5, 2015
    Sanef ITS and connected car company Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) have been awarded a road usage charge contract by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Debuting on Oregon's roadways in July 2015, this voluntary distance-based road usage charging program is said to be North America's first implementation of a mileage-based charging solution. Diminishing fuel tax returns led Oregon decision-makers to look for a fair, reliable source of revenue to fund transportation projects for the state.
  • Development of cooperative driving applications for work zones
    July 17, 2012
    The German AKTIV project is researching several cooperative driving applications for use in work zones. PTV's Michael Ortgiese details progress. The steep increases in traffic volumes predicted back in the early 1990s have unfortunately been proven to be more than accurate. In Germany, the AKTIV project continues to look into cooperative technologies' potential to reduce the impact of those increased traffic volumes and keep traffic moving despite limitations in infrastructure capacity.
  • A carbon free and accident free Europe by 2015?
    February 2, 2012
    By 2050, the Europe Commission aims to make transport in Europe carbon- and accident-free. Between now and then, however, a significant technological development and deployment effort is needed. Here, Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, talks about what's being done. In many respects, COOPERS, CVIS and SAFESPOT, set up by the European Commission (EC) to explore the potential of cooperative infrastructure systems, are already legacy projects. Between them, the three devel
  • Applied Information’s app gets Marietta connected
    October 26, 2017
    Must the benefits of connected vehicle technology wait for a generation of new or retrofitted vehicles? The US city of Marietta is about to find out. Can connected vehicle functionality be delivered via a smartphone? Well, in Marietta, Georgia, they are about to answer that question. The city is testing a smartphone app which warns motorists of nearby cyclists and pedestrians, approaching first responders, wrong-way driving, entering active school zones and much more.