When it comes to communicating with fellow drivers, we're generally limited to a few hand gestures, signal lights, and horns. Of course, some of these hand gestures are friendlier than others...
RoadWayve aims to change the way drivers communicate with one another through an LED light display and a connected remote/app that lets users send specific messages out to fellow drivers. This could really change the way we're able to communicate with others on the road, as hand gestures and signal lights only provide so much information.
RoadWayve Features
RoadWayve is a pretty simple device in theory---it's an LED sign that mounts in your car and allows you to send pre-written messages to fellow drivers. The 13-inch LED display will let other drivers read messages from up to 50-feet away at a viewing angle of 120-degrees.
The device supports Bluetooth, which means messages can be sent to the screen via its remote or through voice controls with the application. The remote has a bunch of the most common message on it, and it has large buttons that make it easy to press them without taking your eyes off the road. For the app, users can either press large buttons on their phone's screen or use voice commands to send messages. The app can also be used to create and send out custom messages.
As far as battery life goes, the creators say they're hoping to achieve three to four weeks of life under ideal conditions, so you shouldn't need to unmount your display and charge it too frequently.
Another key thing to note is that the creators of RoadWayve promise that the device will work with either right or left side driving countries.
Some examples of the preprogrammed messages are as follows:
- Thank you
- I'm sorry
- Let me merge
- Go around me
- Turn off high beams
This device could definitely be quite useful, especially for people in densely populated areas where they frequently need to work with other drivers.
RoadWayve Availability
RoadWayve is currently on Kickstarter, which means it's not officially released yet. However, it has exceeded its funding goal, which means the creators will receive the funds and be able to deliver the product to backers. Anyone interested in backing the project and ordering a RoadWayve will need to put up $129 while the early special lasts. After that, the price jumps to $179.
The team behind the device plans to ship it in July 2020, which is a bit further away than we normally see for Kickstarter projects, but it's better to let backers know that it will be a while for the final devices to release than to deceive them and be forced to delay the launch date later.
Before backing any Kickstarter, make sure you're aware of the risks and you understand that there's no guarantee that the device will actually release.