Lasers boost crossing safety

Motorists who ignore pedestrian crossings could soon find themselves crashing through a Virtual Wall.

The harmless barrier of plasma beams is designed to work in tandem with traffic lights to form a curtain-like virtual screen which runs across the road just ahead of a traditional crossing. As soon as the lights turn red for cars, the lasers activate auto­matically, beaming huge images of pedestrians on to the tarmac to get drivers to slow down and stop.

It’s the brainchild of young South Korean product designer Hanyoung Lee, who wanted to do something about the number of near-misses at traffic lights. He explained that the project was still at concept stage, but said he was looking to produce a prototype in the near future. And he added that the wall could also be set up to be triggered by the sound of approaching cars. Local authorities across the US are said to be interested in the idea, and Hanyoung maintained that it could save many lives. He told us: “I would love to see it in production, although unfortunately I haven’t received any offers yet.”