Don't Walk - Dance Instead!

by Startacus Admin
Urban safety just got a little less woefully dull and a lot more entertaining for the residents of the Portuguese Capital Lisbon. Instead of being faced with a functional, albeit tedious, static ‘don’t walk’ man, pedestrians at this crossing the centre of the city were treated to a quirky surprise.
Their little inert man had been replaced by a highly amusing dancing one.
This interactive installation was designed to encourage locals to follow the rules, and wait until the traffic lights had made it safe to cross the street, before doing so.
Nifty trick you might think, but the whole thing reaches a new level of entertainment value when you consider that the little dancing man is no mere algorithm, but displaying the actual movements of other members of the public, who are dancing in front of motion sensor around the corner!
Take a little look at the video - which incidentally has been viewed over 6,000,000 times!
The Dancing Traffic Light!
The user controlled Traffic light that's brightening the day of pedestriansAs much fun as the whole concept might be, it serves a rather more serious purpose. Research (and common sense) will tell you that the most dangerous area for pedestrians in any city is at traffic crossings, simply because people fail to pay attention or misjudge a vehicle’s distance or speed. The dancing traffic light provides an incentive for people to wait until it is safe to cross, a theory which apparently holds up, since organisers observed an 80% increase in the number of people waiting for the little man to turn green.
One might lament the fact that people now need to be etertained by a set of flashing LEDs to stop from walking in front of moving traffic…but we aren't quite sceptical enough for that.
The installation was put together by Smart (as in Smart cars) as part of a genius marketing campaign ahead of the launch of new models of their compact city car.
We love it when people create projects which put playfulness novelty, fun and intrigue back into the urban spaces around us! If you do as well, you might want to check out some of these recent posts:
Interview with Playable City Award Winner - Shadowing
Hello Lamppost - Winner of Playable City Award 2013
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Tech Nation calls for tangible support to secure capital, talent, growth and exits needed to accelerate the growth of UK tech in decade ahead.

Glasgow-based This is Milk seeks investment for Neve Learning, its cloud-based Ed-Tech platform that has inclusivity and accessibility at its core.

With the UK facing a clear digital skills gap, Amy Caton, Digital Talent and Impact Senior Manager at BT Group shares some insights on what businesses should do to close that divide.

The lowdown on Berlin-based Beazy and its innovative solution that helps teams to plan, produce and deliver creative content and helps businesses to connect with talented content creators.

The lowdown on Fluffy, the app offering dog training, 24/7 vet messaging and insurance to give pet owners peace of mind and support them with their pet care responsibilities.

Huckletree's new Web3 HQ aims to put London’s West End at the forefront of Britain’s tech superpower ambitions.

Leading sports marketing platform, OpenSponsorship announces move into music sector, the first new vertical industry for the trans-Atlantic martech business.

Kingussie High School scoops first place for Junior and Senior categories at this year’s Growing Future Assets Competition.

The lowdown on Manchester-based Arctic Shores and its innovative recruitment solution to help candidate potential count as much as skills and experience.

With the demand for tattoo removal now greater than ever, specialist NAAMA Studios makes a bid for a further £11m in funding.
Published on: 8th October 2014
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.







- Tech Nation report reveals UK Tech could quadruple in value by 2032 with right conditions 23rd Mar 2023 Tech Nation calls for tangible support to secure capital, talent, growth and exits needed to accelerate the growth of UK tech in decade ahead.
- Neurodiverse learning and training platform Neve shares major six-figure investment opportunity 22nd Mar 2023 Glasgow-based This is Milk seeks investment for Neve Learning, its cloud-based Ed-Tech platform that has inclusivity and accessibility at its core.
- Huckletree opens new London hub for tech companies pioneering Web3 solutions 16th Mar 2023 Huckletree's new Web3 HQ aims to put London’s West End at the forefront of Britain’s tech superpower ambitions.
- OpenSponsorship making its move into the music sector 16th Mar 2023 Leading sports marketing platform, OpenSponsorship announces move into music sector, the first new vertical industry for the trans-Atlantic martech business.