The Street of the Future
In the last section the condition of the existing present day street was illustrated with the help of several photographs taken from around New York City. This section, on the other hand, tries to give a glimpse into the streets of the future. The ideas presented in this section are futuristic and somewhat extreme, but with today's rapidly advancing technology they can soon become a reality.
TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION
- Fiber optic transportation -- A means for fast transportation via fiber optic cables.
- Traffic lights that adjust their operation based on the amount of traffic present.
- Pedestrian crossing signs that adjust their operation based on the number of pedestrians present.
INFORMATION
- People-tracking system -- a way to locate other people no matter what part of the world they are in.
- The illiterate helper -- a way for an illiterate person to access all information available.
- SUPERTEL -- will enable people to do any kind of transactions on the spot; this
- includes all bank services, E=mail, communications (audio-visual) and access to the information highway. It will also be able to communicate with the user in his or her own language, supply updated information on many areas such as transportation, entertainment, traveling, etc.
- Interactive Maps -- will enable the user to read the street maps faster and will respond to questions and problems (audio-visual.)
- Geographical tracking system -- will tell you your location
SAFETY SECURITY, AND SURVEILLANCE
- Sensor car -- A car that will detect living objects around it using infrared rays.
- Blood alcohol level testing car -- A car that tests the driver's blood alcohol level and does not allow the driver to start the vehicle if the blood alcohol level is above a certain threshold.
- Automatic Warning System -- A system embedded in the street which detects hazardous situations.
- Anti-Earthquake Streets -- A street designed to withstand earthquakes. This will minimize the damage caused to the street and the sidewalks during such earthquakes.
- Smart-Parking -- An intelligent parking system that will automatically credit your if account for the time parked and will also inform you about any problems with the car while you were away e.g. activated alarm, attempted break in etc.
- Sidewalk Net: Will be able to detect any falling objects such as icicles, construction, debris etc. and prevent it from falling into the sidewalk and the streets, hence preventing any serious damage.
- Smart Lighting -- adjustable light that will automatically focuses on obstacles.
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Copyright © 1996 Cooper Union Smart Street Project Team
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Last modified Monday, April 8, 1996