Mitsubishi Electric unveils animated road-illuminating directional indicators
(Image: Mitsubishi Electric)
Selected features of the new system will be exhibited with Mitsubishi Electric's EMIRAI3 xDAS concept car during the 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition complex in Tokyo, Japan from October 29 to November 8. Mitsubishi Electric (TOKYO: 6503) unveiled a directional-indicator system that illuminates road surfaces at night with specific moving patterns to inform pedestrians and other drivers of a vehicle's intended path forward or backward, or when turning, opening doors, or making emergency stops.
The system projects large, easy-to-understand animated illuminations onto road surfaces to help pedestrians quickly comprehend the driver's intentions. The technology is expected to help avoid road accidents while lowering the potential frustration or confusion of nearby drivers and pedestrians.
According to research by the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (Tokyo), 70% of pedestrian fatalities on roads happen at night. Market initiatives to use lighting sources for safer roadway environments are expected to increase from US $6.3 billion in 2013 to US $10 billion by 2022, according to the Fuji Chimera Research Institute (also in Tokyo). In particular, small, affordable LEDs are expected to be used in increasingly sophisticated lighting systems.
Source: http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/news/2015/1023.html