Our assumption and claims:
The elderly, and the physically disabled/injured in terms of mobilty will not be able to cross the crossroad in the given timeframe, so they will use our product to extend the time of the traffic light.
Some people start crossing the road even though there isn’t enough time left, so our product will prevent them abusing the product by making it work for the green light that has more than 75% of time left.
Some people could abuse our product and extend the green light time infinitely, so the product will limit how many times the user can extend the time of the green light.
Our product will tell how much time is left on the traffic light, when users will be able to use the time extension feature (with green/red LED lights).
The users could be occupying both of their hands, so our product will be easy for them to press even if they are holding something.
Crossroad Observation Video (Chaeeun):
Interview with Chaeeun’s grandmother:
1. Do/Did you have difficulty walking? Used to have difficulty walking
What kind of difficulty did/do you have? I had a problem with one of my knee joints. I felt a lot of pain when I overworked my knee.
What kind of external support do you use to walk? I didn’t have any external supports
2. Do you usually struggle with crossing the crosswalk in the given time? When I had the problem with my knee, I struggled crossing crosswalks in the given time.
3. Could you share a specific incident where you couldn’t cross the crossroad in the given time period? Although I struggled, I did cross the crossroad in the given time frame. However, I had to hurry, which caused a lot of pain in my injured knee. I had to endure the pain and limp quickly while I was crossing the crossroad. (I took big steps with my uninjured leg) I could not walk in a slow pace that did not hurt my knee.
4. Have you hesitated/decided not to go somewhere because of your inability to cross the road in the given time period? Yes. I did not want to go outside and was depressed during those days. It was even difficult to go to the hospital to treat my knee. I had to take long courses that had longer green light time frames.
5. A: (There is a camera that senses you crossing the road, and automatically extends time if it senses that you’re still crossing the road. Will you rely on this technology to cross the road safely? I think it will help me cross the road without enduring the pain in my knee. If there was such technology it would be good for my knee health. I would like to have such technology. (She didn’t worry much that it was based on a camera that senses the person)
6. B: There is a wearable remote controlled device, it extends the time whenever you press the button. Will you rely on this technology to cross the road safely? I would like to have such technology. Korean drivers are quick-tempered, so they do not wait for pedestrians to finish crossing the road after the traffic light has changed. Those situations scared me and caused me to go fast while hurting my knee and accidentally fall. If there was such technology, I think there would be less accidents and it would help me walk more comfortably.
7. Which would you prefer, A or B? I prefer B because I can control the time. I could walk more carefully and slowly so that my knee doesn’t hurt.
8. What do you think would help you cross the roads safely in time? I would like that device B.
Reflection
I noticed that although the elderly are slow, they do not start as soon as the traffic light turns green.
I noticed that although my grandmother had difficulty crossing the crossroad in the given timeframe, she was able to cross it in the given time by overworking herself. I realized that we should not only notice those who fail to cross the crossroad in the given time, but also consider those who succeed in crossing by overworking and injuring themselves.
Fly on the wall observation
(Jing)
Sinchon cross road between exit 1 & 8:
Crosswalk does not have a numerical timer, instead it times with the arrows
Hunched back elderly lady crossed the road when the signal turned, it seems like she is relying more on her left leg and the way she walks seems hurried, seemingly afraid to not make it across in time. She tries to hurry the moment the crosswalk turns green and then slows down after crossing the island section realising she still has time.
Crosswalk between Sinchon and Hongdae (near hanaro mart):
A fairly long crosswalk with no island, I timed the crosswalk to be 40seconds
Crosswalk does not have a numerical timer, instead it times with the arrows
An elderly man standing very near the edge of the crosswalk side, seems very ready to cross. When the light turned green, he was walking fast but cannot seem to take big steps, using his hands for a faster momentum.
He looks familiar with this crosswalk and it’s timing, it’s as if he knows he cannot cross completely in time so he aims to at least cross 80% so that when the light turns, he won’t be in the middle but instead is almost near the end of the crosswalk.
Personal opinion: this crosswalk timing is weirdly short, even I would take 80% of the given timing to finish the crosswalk)
Huge crosswalk at Guro Digital Complex line 1, exit 6:
There is an island in the middle of the huge crosswalk.
When the signal turned green, many elderly crossed diagonally. And a few of them were running. The elderly who weren’t fit enough to run would first try to walk as fast as they can but after the signal turns red, they maintain the speed and do not really bother to rush across.
Most of the elderly who couldnt cross in time were fairly relaxed and simply continued to cross the road in their pace as the cars move. None of the cars honked at the elderly.
(Daeun) April 1, 2023
*Notes
it is honestly challenging to identify whether they are old or not.
There are a variety of pedestrians, with a minority of senior citizens.
This has been observed in apartment grounds. (Unsure if this would’ve affected traffic light time)
Janggidong Sageori (6:00 pm)
Since it’s a 4 way road, I could observe people from two sides.
4 lane; 35 seconds; [numbers show from] 20 sec (15s)
The distance is not far. 2 lane-distance.
The traffic lights’ numbers ( roughly 18 seconds) start showing once most of the pedestrians have crossed.
The passersby includes:
Children
Elderlies
cyclers
People with strollers (children/pets)
People with grocery bags
People with school bags.
Old lady (6:17 pm)
Has a dog on one arm, a grocery bag on the other. She walks fairly slowly, outside the pedestrian lane. She starts with the crowd, but arrives last. No sign of hurriedness shown, she is rather lax. 8 seconds remain when she reaches the other side of the road.
Old man (6:21pm)
He has white hair, wears a black windproof jacket, and is waiting for the traffic lights to turn green. The lights have turned green. He walks properly, and faster than the rest. He arrives on the other side of the road near 2nd…
A handful of people started crossing even when the timer dropped to +-15 seconds...All of the pedestrians had plenty of time to cross even then. Most reached the other side of the road when the timer starts showing (20 sec) [complimentary]
Due to this, I’ll be moving to a different location to observe.
March Avenue (6:47pm)
(4 way road but will only observe one section)
9 lane; 35 seconds; numbers show from 24 seconds (after 11 seconds as passed)
(kind of questionable because the previous lane was only 4 lanes but had 35 seconds, while this crossroads have 9 lanes but with the same crossing time.
The passersby includes:
teenagers
children
elderly
Patients (there is a building with several hospital branches on one side of the road.
cyclers
Scooter riders
Standard adult crowds walking at a regular pace still have a hard time crossing the road completely with leisure. It’s best to start walking the moment the traffic lights have turned green. (or ~ 5~ seconds after the lights have turned green
Crowd 1 (6:51pm): group of 6 people. They arrived on the other side of the road with 10, 8 and 5 seconds remaining.
Crowd 2 (6:55pm): a couple. They look like they’re middle aged. Start walking exactly when the lights have turned green, walk at an average pace and arrive when there’s 10 seconds left.
Crowd 3 (7:01pm): a group of children (kindergarten ~ grade schoolers), 2 teenagers, and a few adults cross the road. They walk at a normal pace, while children attempt to keep up with the pace of adults. Majority of the group arrives the moment the lights turn red. They seem to base the pace of walking on how much time they have left.
Middle aged~ Old man (7:14): He is looking at his phone, wears a y shirts long sleeves, and black slacks. He starts walking when there’s only 15 seconds left. He is keeping a steady slow~average pace. And looks rather lax. He is still on the road when the lights have turned red, but is near to the other side of the road. He seems to have no thoughts of changing his pace. The cars are quite patient.
Man and son (7:16): They start walking when there’s only 16 seconds left. They alternate between a slight jog and fast walk. When they were near the other side of the road, the lights turn red, and they both sprint few steps (3~5 steps) to reach the end of the cross walk.
(majority of the people were healthy.. Ill be continuing observation back in Songdo)
송도 과학로84번길
total time 38.40 seconds
took roughly 27 seconds to cross in a average-fast pace.
starts blinking by 25 sec
8~9 lane
(6:35pm , 4.10.2023)
mosly students. little to no elders again.
(6:45)
Old man. he wore black slacks, gray shirt and a gray hat. stars walking when the lights turned green. he is walking in a fast pace, difficult to call it relaxed. arrives to the other side of the road with 6 seconds left.
(6:47)
two female students starts crossing the road when there's only 8 seconds left. thry are still on the road when the lights had turned red. they crossed unharmed.
there are mostly just students here.
7:28pm
mid 40s looking lady. short stature pink mask, olive green coat. walks the crossroad with a stroller bag in hand. walking in a normal lax pace. arrives with 5 seconds left.
송도테크노파크 BT센터
7 lanes. (8 if including center plant pavement)
(7:04pm)
37 seconds.
starts blinking by 24. seconds.
7:13
Man in his middle ages. has a black backpack and wears a beige coat. has a steady, strong and confident pace. tries to cross the road and starts the moment the lights turn green. keeps his pace until the other side of the crosswalk. 10 seconds remain.
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