Leading automobile companies are actively working to ensure safe traffic on highways, on which more and more cyclists have appeared recently. According to Ford, about 2 thousand cyclists die in Europe every year. The main reason for their death is the lack of understanding with car drivers.
It is difficult to notice a bicycle on the road, especially with average speeds increasing on highways from year to year. In addition, to indicate a turn, the cyclist has to remove a hand from the wheel, which leads to a decrease in the quality of driving. To assist cyclists, the Ford company together with Share The Road have created a special Emoji Jacket, which allows transmitting information with LED sensors mounted on the cyclist’s back that is important to other road traffic participants.
In total, the smart jacket will be able to transmit several signals: three standard emoticons, direction indicators and a warning about danger. Signals on the back of the jacket can be controlled using the remote wireless control unit, which is mounted on the handlebars of the bicycle.
Emoji Jacket has been presented as a single demo version and is designed to focus on the need to improve the safety of cyclists on modern roads.
