Pan Free Traffic – no more red lights
Pan Free Traffic – no more red lights
Time and again, Pan Acoustics from Wolfenbüttel attracts attention with new ideas. The latest inspiration came when CEO and founder Udo Borgmann was standing in front of a red traffic light in a long traffic jam.
It is well known that many traffic lights have a special "green wave" for ambulances so that they can quickly reach their destination at the patient's home or the hospital. Coded radio signals or even special acoustic signals such as the stronger "Woo Wee" of an ambulance approaching a traffic light are picked up by the traffic light electronics. The traffic light then quickly switches from red to green and the ambulance has a clear path.
The idea is to use exactly this feature for "green light" and make it available to the hurried road user: if the car driver is standing in front of a red light, these signals are likewise generated to preferably get green in the desired direction of travel.
How it works: In variant 1, a special radio transponder signal can be transmitted from any passenger car at the push of a button or app when approaching a red traffic light, and the traffic light can be switched to green. In addition, many traffic lights are equipped with microphones that recognise the signals from the sirens and switch the traffic light to "green wave" based on the direction. Here, variant 2 comes along with a beaming siren simulator that is attached to the front of the vehicle and then "beams" the traffic light in a targeted manner – in imitation of a "Woo Wee" that cannot be perceived with the ears.
Pan Acoustics is a specialist in beaming sound through its Pan Beam series and can precisely "beam" the traffic light microphones. In a test drive through Berlin, the driving time was reduced to only 15 minutes instead of the typical 60 minutes with a lot of red light due to the green wave. This idea also protects the environment. Especially at night, everyone has stood pointlessly at a red light without other road users being able to use the green light of the opposing traffic light. This situation can now be remedied.
It is planned to market the Pan Free Traffic into a licence model. Initial discussions with leasing fleets for high-profile managers have been promising. The process is supported by Pan Acoustics' own Climate Council, as it not only saves the nerves of impatient drivers, but also saves CO2. Pan Acoustics is still looking for more test vehicles for verification in the field test.