. Drivers don’t always pay attention to stoplights, and many countries have crossings without stoplights, leaving pedestrians unsure whether the cars coming toward them are going to stop or not. That’s a problem Skoda, in partnership with a team of robotic experts, is tackling with a combination of smart grilles and AI crossing guards.
Skoda’s contribution to the project is focused on a digital grille that can display messages visible to those outside the car.
Symbols on its four-sided digital display let both pedestrians and drivers know whose right of way it is, and the robot can also send electronic signals via 5G directly to approaching cars warning them to slow down. Once all of the waiting pedestrians have crossed safely the robot returns to the side of the road, probably to be bullied and tipped over by a bunch of bored teenagers.