[by DigInfo News]

A research group at the University of Electro-Communications is proposing a method to guide pedestrians within buildings and stations where crowds may be disordered, using lenticular lenses to stimulate the visual field.

Lenticular lenses are made up of rows of lenses that each have one semi-circular side, and there is an image underneath the lens, which changes according to the angle of view. They are currently used in 3D post cards and glasses-free 3D TVs.

“The images on the sheets laid on the floor beneath them appear to move to the right, as pedestrians move above them when they walk. Since people have a tendency to give priority to their visual sense to maintain their balance when they walk, their eyes will be attracted in that direction.”

By laying sheets out like this over long distances in stations, the flow of people can be guided to the right, and it is thought that disorganized crowding can be mitigated.

“Right now a striped pattern is moving to the right, but an image could also be used as well, for example, some kind of character could be laid down, and walking on the right-hand side could be achieved as people feel they are following a character who is moving to the right.”

Field test results showed this method to be more effective than projecting images from a projector, and there is the further advantage of no expense for electrical power.

“Lenticular lenses are now being used in displays such as posters and post cards, and laying them on the floor has not been considered, so we don’t clearly know how durable they would be.”

They plan to conduct future tests using a number of people to verify just how people might be guided through public facilities.

See the original story here: http://www.diginfo.tv/2011/05/10/11-0087-r-en.php