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Their little inert man had been replaced by a highly amusing dancing one.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.
The FinTech startup which is shaking up how personal taxes are done in the UK....
leAD Sports is on the hunt for early-stage SportsTech startups to join their latest 12-week Accelerator program in the heart of Europe’s thriving and vibrant startup ecosystem in Berlin.
The London based startup that's analysing the natural interactions between autonomous systems and people
The startup that's using advanced technologies to transform un-recyclable plastics into virgin quality chemicals...
London-based cyber-security startup PixelPin want to simplify security using image-based authentication to replace passwords.
The InsurTech startup which covers the risk of non payment of invoices...
AO, the UK’s leading online-only household appliance and electrical retailer is looking discover and integrate startups with solutions that will help AO’s customers.
.jpeg)
Technology has transformed how people interact. We are on the cusp of an exciting new era in clinical communication, and a key shift in the empowerment of patients as a stakeholder in healthcare.
Exercise made fun thanks to this location-based strategy game for runners and walkers
The innovative Social Community App that's been created for those living & working with Dyslexia and ADHD...
Published on: 8th October 2014
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- leAD Sports Accelerator targets a hat trick of successful SportsTech cohorts 23rd Apr 2019 leAD Sports is on the hunt for early-stage SportsTech startups to join their latest 12-week Accelerator program in the heart of Europe’s thriving and vibrant startup ecosystem in Berlin.
- AO launches Innovation Lab to integrate online retail solutions 17th Apr 2019 AO, the UK’s leading online-only household appliance and electrical retailer is looking discover and integrate startups with solutions that will help AO’s customers.
- EDP searching for startups to join the Starter Acceleration Program 8th Apr 2019 EDP, one of Europe's major electricity operators is currently looking for startups for their new EDP Starter Acceleration Program.
- United Utilities launches Innovation Lab 2.0 21st Mar 2019 Leading UK water and wastewater company United Utilities has launched its second accelerator programme to help innovative businesses grow and develop their solutions through a collaborative approach.
