I had a thought last night. Some new cars have “matrix” headlights, which will detect oncoming drivers and use an LCD matrix to block out areas that would blind the oncoming driver.
I was looking at the shadow cast on my back door from a streetlight a couple blocks away and thinking it’s a very useful light for people walking on the street. Just not for me standing in my backyard or the birds sleeping in my trees.
I wonder if we could start applying this active matrix technology to streetlights. Each time one is set up, we could program it to illuminate all the walkways but not much else. Just an idea.
Doesn’t need that complex algorithm here because streetlight is static (the walkways don’t change), so all you need is just a different light design for each. Or maybe a modular source you can change while installing.
which is why it feels vaguely malicious to me that this isn’t a completely standard thing, all it would take is putting up some opaque sheets on the street lamps and having a dude go around at night to cut them so the light only shines onto the ground
for the benefit it brings it should be trivially cheap
I had a thought last night. Some new cars have “matrix” headlights, which will detect oncoming drivers and use an LCD matrix to block out areas that would blind the oncoming driver.
I was looking at the shadow cast on my back door from a streetlight a couple blocks away and thinking it’s a very useful light for people walking on the street. Just not for me standing in my backyard or the birds sleeping in my trees.
I wonder if we could start applying this active matrix technology to streetlights. Each time one is set up, we could program it to illuminate all the walkways but not much else. Just an idea.
Doesn’t need that complex algorithm here because streetlight is static (the walkways don’t change), so all you need is just a different light design for each. Or maybe a modular source you can change while installing.
Honestly a great idea
Don’t need an algorithm at all. Just needs what is effectively a lampshade cut to direct the light at the sidewalk and street instead of the houses.
which is why it feels vaguely malicious to me that this isn’t a completely standard thing, all it would take is putting up some opaque sheets on the street lamps and having a dude go around at night to cut them so the light only shines onto the ground
for the benefit it brings it should be trivially cheap