Digital roads and accident avoidance

Place: freeway to portland

Design problem: Accidents and other unexpected blockages to lanes on freeways can create dangerous situations for approaching traffic. For planned blockages (e.g. road work) trucks with programmable signs are used to redirect traffic out of a blocked lane (see above). Car accidents that block a lane typically attract a police or fire truck which turns on its emergency lights. The problem with these solutions is the proximity to the accident. Given the speed traffic travels at, approaching drivers are very close the actual accident by the time they first know about it and they still lack a good understanding of how to avoid it. It also results in rapid lane changes which can cause additional accidents. All of this results in a greater probability of grid locked traffic occuring before the problem area and less highway efficiency.

Potential solutions: Oncoming drivers need to be informed of a problem long before an accident, informed what to do to avoid it, in day or night, and in a reliable way so the 'crying wolf' phenomenon common in road work signs doesn't occur. What if we had 'smart' roads? Roads that had imbedded led lights in the pavement could animate arrow flashes pointing out of a lane, miles before a reported accident. Lane sensors or cameras could auto detect small numbers of stopped cars and auto trigger avoidance systems and alert the police. Even if this cost prohibitive, road location labels could enable people to call in an accident location to 911 and rapidly have the avoidance lights triggered for the corect location. We need digital roads.

Interacting with an automatic towel dispenser

Place: Public bathrooms

Design issue: In an environment such as a mall or airport with users who may not read english well (kids, foreign travelers) how can a towel dispenser which is movement-activated best communicate to the user how to interact with it?

The first example image above tells the user exactly what to do, which is good, but it may be challenging for those who don't read english well. The second example tells the user how the device works, but not how to interact with it. It also uses a picture more commonly understood by most users and has a clear case which allows the user to see when the paper is empty.

Potential solutions: Combine the two interfaces. Show two hands in the proper orientation with an arrow pointing below. Also remove the time delay commonly found on these units which makes it hard to get two sheets of paper. Also add a light which blinks when a hand is detected (to help the user understand what the device is seeing) and add an out-of-paper blinking light that only comes on when the unit is empty. If this can't be determined reliably than the clear case is a decent solution. Interfaces that don't require touching are great for public areas and could be used more widely than they are.

Efficient restaurant experiences

Place: san francisco food court

Design issue: Restaurants that don't do table service commonly have to announce upcoming orders to customers. In its more primitive forms this entails shouting numbers from behind the counter, customers trying to find order numbers on their receipts, customers not hearing announcements, and customers needlessly standing waiting for food to be prepared. Not an ideal customer experience.

Solution: Some wise soul figured out that pagers had become dirt cheap and that when integrated with a vibration unit and LED lights could work as a personalized alert system between the restaurant and a hungry customer. Now (in some locations) when you pay for your food you get a "smart" coaster which vibrates and blinks when your food is ready or when you are ready to be seated at your table. It is a simple and elegant solution I have yet to find a problem with.