Digital Signage Hits The Road To Save Lives

Digital signage is taking a turn for the safety lane in an innovative new concept that would see semi trucks providing a heads-up on oncoming traffic to following drivers.

Display technology from Samsung recently was used in a prototype "Safety Truck" aimed at preventing traffic accidents and fatalities from drivers trying to overtake and pass semitractor-trailers in Argentina. The two-by-two video wall mounted to the back of a trailer showed drivers behind the truck what was in front of the truck and any oncoming traffic.

The global display provider wrote about the project in its blog:

Have you ever found yourself driving behind a semitrailer truck? If you're on a single-lane highway or road, it can be a nightmare. Even though the truck is driving relatively slowly, you cannot overtake it due to its size, and because you cannot see what is happening in front of the truck.

However, Samsung has developed a solution that may make this problem a thing of the past.Argentina's statistics on traffic accidents are among the highest in the world, with most of these accidents occurring on two-lane roads and particularly in situations of overtaking. With this in mind, Samsung developed a technology for trucks that seeks to enrich the lives of people through innovation. But more than that, this time the goal is more ambitious: to save lives.

How does it work?

The Safety Truck consists of a wireless camera attached to the front of the truck, which is connected to a video wall made out of four exterior monitors located on the back of the truck. The monitors give drivers behind the truck a view of what is going on ahead, even in the dark of night.

This allows drivers to have a better view when deciding whether it is safe to overtake. Another advantage of the Safety Truck is that it may reduce the risk of accidents caused by sudden braking or animals crossing the road.

Samsung led the prototype development by providing large format display samples, and conducted a test with a local B2B client 

Next steps

Currently, the prototype truck built is no longer operational. So far Samsung has been able to confirm that the technology works and that this idea can definitely save the lives of many people.

The next step is to perform the corresponding tests in order to comply with the existing national protocols and obtain the necessary permits and approvals. For this, Samsung is working together with safe driving NGOs and the government.

The Samsung Safety Truck appears to be the realization of the Transparentius concept first put forward by the Russian design house Art. Lebedev Studio in 2009.

The Safety Truck project has been generating buzz since Samsung posted about it, with some naysayers pointing, rightly, to the expense of the displays as a possible speed bump to  widespread adoption by long-haul truckers — but it seems like there's room for either static or dynamic third-party ads on the screens that could be designed to not distract the driver. That, or some trucking companies may just decide the ROI would be provided by the positive impressions the screens would create for the drivers they help.

Source:http://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/blogs/digital-signage-hits-the-road-to-save-lives-with-knights-of-the-highway/