Look left, look right, or don’t look and let your phone look for you!

With all the stresses of modern living, simply getting across the road in one piece can be a mission and a half, especially if your iPhone, Blackberry or Android phone is clamouring for your attention. That’s right: texting while driving is a well known no-no, but now, so is texting while walking.

The problem of pedestrians actually being hit/almost hit by oncoming traffic, because they were buried in some app or another on their phone whilst crossing the road is apparently so serious, that app developers at Dartmouth College in the States, and the University of Bologna in Italy, have collaborated on a new smartphone app that uses elaborate algorithms (don’t they all…), and the cameras on your phone, to do what your own eyes were meant to do until now.

Elaborate algorithms doing their thing in WalkSafe

The major hurdle in the app’s functionality is that it can technically only look in one direction. You still have to at least look at least one way, and, to be honest, if you’re so embroiled in a particularly acrimonious bout of potato haggling on Farmville that you are oblivious to your surroundings whilst crossing the road, then I’m not even sure an app that could look both ways would help you.

Here’s some video on WalkSafe, the app for Darwin Award nominees:

Thanks to Mathew S for the link!

[Source: PopSci]