If you’ve been out driving today, you may have encountered a stoplight along the way.
They’re pretty handy for getting cars, trucks, buses, pedestrians and more safely through busy intersections.
But the concept of the stoplight we know is around a century old.
And a design studio in Moscow has an idea for a refresh.
This stoplight, from Art. Lebedev Studio, turns the vertical column of red, yellow and green lights into one rectangular panel that can change colors as needed.
But that’s not all it does.
The panel also includes icons that may help drivers who can’t see the colors.
There’s an X for stop, an arrow for go, and an exclamation point for slowing down.
The arrows can even show, for example, if a lane is blocked because of construction, or it’s safe to make a left turn before oncoming traffic starts moving.
There are lots of countdowns, in fact.
They show how much longer a light will stay red or green the way that some intersections show wait times for pedestrians.
This is purely a concept so far; there are no prototypes or demos ready yet.
But some cities in Russia have already said they’d test the real thing once it’s developed.
In other words, they’re giving this new, high-tech stoplight idea… a green light.
Today would have been the 82nd birthday of the late, legendary game show host Alex Trebek.
LEGO builder Douglas Hughes paid tribute to Trebek by making a kinetic sculpture in the likeness of the host and three contestants on the Jeopardy! set.
A set like that definitely wins you control of the board.
The traffic light gets a dazzling, 21st century makeover (Fast Company)
A Tribute To Trebek (BrickNerd)
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Photo by Taber Andrew Bain via Flickr/CC