Display screens for large vehicles alert cars to hidden, oncoming traffic

A team has designed a screen for buses and large vehicles that can show ads and also alert cars to oncoming traffic

Spotted: One road hazard that has not received a lot of attention is that of large vehicles, such as buses, which can obstruct other drivers’ line of sight, leading to road accidents. This problem is especially acute in large, crowded urban centres. But now, a team from Ming Chi University of Technology in Taiwan, has developed a potential solution. They have designed a display screen for large vehicles that can alert cars to oncoming traffic.

The AVED barrier screen is an organic light-emitting diode display (OLED) that can be hung on the outside of buses or other large vehicles. It is paired with a camera and wide-angle lens that is mounted on the front of the vehicle. The camera captures what is happening in front of the vehicle and projects these images onto the screen. This allows other vehicles to see oncoming traffic.

The AVED can also double as an AR advertising screen. The designers suggest that this could be used to provide information for tourists, a view of the shops normally blocked by large vehicles, and interactive ads. They also point out that using screens for advertising would reduce the use of plastic advertising stickers on buses, and thus save on plastic waste.

More than just a video, the system could also alert cars to potential danger by displaying a warning sign on the images of oncoming vehicles. They suggest: “When the vehicle comes in, AVED can still display the [scene] blocked by the vehicle body in real-time, while retaining some advertising posters. And when there are dangerous vehicles, you can quickly warn [them], to avoid accidents caused by blind spots.”

At Springwise, we have covered a host of innovative advertising ideas. Some of these, like Chipotle’s socially-distanced campaign, use live-streaming in new ways, while others use VR and AR to immerse potential customers in new products.

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