Have you ever been walking down the street and someone nearly crashes into you because they are texting and walking? It happens more than you know, especially on the busy streets of NYC (I have to admit – it’s happened to me once or twice)! While it might drive you crazy when people aren’t paying attention, a new app called CrashAlert is on the horizon.
Technology – Changing the Way We Walk and Text?
According to this recent article, a postdoctoral researcher named Hincapié-Ramos at the University of Manitoba’s human-computer interaction lab in Winnipeg, Canada has developed a camera that senses depth and can warn users of obstacles before they crash into them. Hincapié-Ramos says, “People aren’t going to just stop texting and walking, and in order to incorporate [cell phones] into our everyday new habits, they have to help with the things they take away from us, like peripheral vision.”
So because people aren’t going to stop texting and walking, a solution is necessary. Hincapié-Ramos and his team are currently testing this new technology and hope in the coming months it will be usable for smart phones and eventually become an app.
Does this type of technology encourage people to become even less aware of the world around them? Do you think we need a walk and text app?