Successfully navigating a crossing requires pedestrians and drivers to be mutually aware. Big Brother is watching, and he wants you to cross the road safely. In an attempt to improve pedestrian and traffic flow, and reduce jaywalking, the City of Vienna has ordered a research project to look at the potential future of the pedestrian intersection. Researchers at TU Graz’s Institute of Computer Graphics and Vision claim to have hit upon an “intelligent pedestrian traffic light” system that uses cameras to identify when people are ready and waiting to cross the road and automatically prompt lights to change. In doing so, the system would not just create efficiencies for those on foot – not to mention remove the terrible strain of having to push a button (ouch!) – but improve traffic flow as well by continuously monitoring and anticipating pedestrian movement. “The green phase can be extended in the case of large groups of persons, who require more time to cross the road,” explained Horst Possegger from the Institute of Computer Graphics and Vision. “And if persons leave the waiting area before the lights have turned to green, this is also passed on to the lights. The traffic lights subsequently don’t switch to green and there are no unnecessary waiting times for motorised traffic.” According to the release, the cameras mounted on the traffic lights need just one second to pick up a pedestrian and predict their intent, and another second to deem that prediction “reliable.” Creepy or cool? We say bring on the cameras, Big Bro. Ain’t nobody got time for buttons anyway.
Origin: Future pedestrian intersections could predict when you’ll cross
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Near Moncton? You’ll wanna see the Atlantic Nationals Car Show
Victoria Day weekend is fast approaching and, as the unofficial start of summer for most of the country, gearheads across the nation will be hauling out their seasonal rides or taking the winter tires off their year-round dailies. Just today, your author spotted a Civic Type R and WRX STI having fun with each other in traffic. Yep—summer’s around the corner. Another surefire way to gauge the approach of warm weather? The appearance of car shows, naturally. Here in the east, show season is headlined by the Atlantic Nationals, now in its 19th year. Annually held on the first weekend of July, it’s grown to attract nearly 2,000 cars, all of which are on proud display in and around Centennial Park in Moncton, New Brunswick. Do you like Corvettes? There will literally be a field of them. Sport compacts? Yep, there’s an expansive section for those, too. Along the way, you’ll find Jeeps winched up hills to be displayed at gonzo angles, along with plenty of live music and food vendors. The place is packed with an outrageous amount of American muscle, too. Main show days at the park are Saturday and Sunday. With this much activity, you know the place attracts a few celebrities looking to get in on the action. Dennis Gage has filmed more than one episode of My Classic Car at the event. This year, legendary automotive builder Gene Winfield will be in the house, along with Hollywood hotshoe Andrew Comrie-Picard. Everyone who enters a car into the show gets a chance to win prizes from a huge giveaway pool, the grand prize of which is a custom ’50 Ford. Splitting the weekend on Saturday night is one of the best cruise nights east of Montreal. The entirety of Mountain Road, a main drag in Moncton, is filled with hot rods and collector cars oozing their way into the night. The street is a four-lane thoroughfare, with cruisers sticking to the outside lanes and gearheads lining the sidewalks hoping to get a glimpse of some sizzling metal. It’s an electric party atmosphere—‘cept this party stretches about five kilometres long This year, the action at Centennial Park is on July 6 and 7. Pro tip: get there mid-morning Saturday, as all hands usually skedaddle out of the show area by 5:00pm that day. Summer’s here, baby. We’ll have boots on the ground at events like these this year, so stay tuned for some cool stories about some hot
Origin: Near Moncton? You’ll wanna see the Atlantic Nationals Car Show
All about car 