EXPERIENTIAL_ 2018
The Smart Crossing
Partnering with Direct Line we demonstrated innovative prototype pedestrian crossing aimed at reducing traffic and pedestrian accidents. With 7,000 annual road traffic accidents taking place at crossings due to a lack of visibility for cars, cyclists and pedestrians, this new campaign is a world-first and aims to tackle this pertinent problem.
This was a huge campaign to be part of, a great example of bridging the gap between art direction and design. This project used in-depth research groups with a relevant partnering agencies & workshops with our clients to get relevant data and insight into creating different scenarios, tackling road side accidents.
The first phase was to adress the current limitations of pedestrian crossings, the ‘Smart Crossing’, which spans 6m x 22m, will: Widen to accommodate large groups, which could help in reducing the number of crowd related incidents outside schools or sporting events Adapt to pedestrians who take unnecessary risks or those in emergency situations, such as a child chasing a ball into the path of oncoming traffic Address the issue of high sided vehicles (such as HGVs and buses) which can obscure the view of the pedestrian who is crossing by lighting a 1m radius around pedestrians walking across the road. This will ensure they are not ‘hidden’ by these types of vehicles which can often cause a blind spot for other road users Use colours to grab the attention of pedestrians engrossed in their mobile phones, urging them to ‘look up’ and focus on crossing the road safely and to make life safer for the ‘head down’ generation
Final lockup to launch the campaign, below are the initial explorations
Inspired by a zebra crossing. Adapting to revela the lockup.
The core of the the campaign was split into 3 different scenarios which had to be designed, developed and tested.
FEATURED SCENARIOS
01 Defector
02 Emergency
03 High sided vehicle
SCENARIO
01 Defector
The Smart Crossing knows when a pedestrian gets within 30cm of the road.
This was the first scenario we developed. In the head down culture we live in, we wanted to address pedestrians walking mindlessly off course into potential danger.
A red signal illuminates to alert cars to the potential hazard in the road. Simultaneously, a red “danger area” on the pavement instructs the pedestrian to step back, drawing their attention to the safe crossing area further up the road.
Inital concept design, challenging bring awareness with a concise design that people are used to seeing.
Final design
The final design incorporated a chevron area that warns pedestrians to move back into a safe area. We pulsed out a gradient into the road to warn road users of potential danger ahead.
SCENARIO
02 High sided vehicle
Accidents happen, we wanted to limit this by pushing the capability of technology, topping reaction time of just 0.3 seconds
One of the most exciting parts of the project was to test the limits of the technology we were using. Speed was our number on objective, we wanted to test how fast the road could identify threats.
Emergency chevrons track their direction of travel, guiding them back to the pavement and out of the path of oncoming traffic. Meanwhile, cars are brought to a safe stopping distance before the danger, by stop signs that animate on the road surface.
Inital concept design, challenging how we alert both pedestrian and road user.
Final design
For the final design we incorporated a recognisable design that was coherent for each type of road user. Shutting down the road to until the hazard has been removed.
SCENARIO
03 Emergency
There are many cyclists on the streets so we wanted to address a problem of blind spots from high sided vehicles when approaching a crossing.
Of all of the scenarios this was by fat the most challenging. There were many moving parts, and every aspect of the road had to have a design that communicated the right message in a identifiable manner.
The Smart Crossing’s motion-tracking cameras cover 22M x 7.5M of road, and know if your view of the crossing is obscured by another road user. As a cyclist approached the crossing behind a high sided vehicle, it would alert the rider in advance to slow down and come to a stop in a designated safe area.
Having the rest of the road mapped out, the key to this scenario was cracking how we communicate with cyclists.
Final design
The final design delivers the right message at the right time to every road user. The bike zone featured in blue communicates a potential hazard ahead, whilst not distracting other road users.
THE DESIGN
Lexicon
To ensure we communicated the right message to the right users we formulated and abided to 10 Principles of Good Road Design
01 Makes roads safe and useful
02 Is inclusive
03 Makes roads understandable
04 Fits in context
05 Is restrained
06 Is thorough
07 Is environmentally sustainable
08 Is innovative
09 Is long-lasting
10 Is a collaborative process
The whole campaign consisted of various test days and prototypes built to test the design and the tech working together, here's a few images of the test days and the final shoot day where we created, 3 feature edits to showcase the technology.
If you'd like to know more about the project, the design and the future of the technology you can visit the live site here.
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