LIGHTGUARD Announces Development of COVID-19 Touchless Pedestrian Push Button for Public Safety at Crosswalks

Covid-19 Driven Touchless Crosswalk Push Button Designed to Activate Pedestrian Walk Time via a Hand-wave Offers Cities a Way to Reduce the Spread of Viruses

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things — to the extent that simply pushing a button has become a personal safety hazard. SmartSense™ helps cities who are trying to balance public safety with pandemic safety by providing pedestrians the ability to activate crosswalks without using their bare finger. This series of touchless, hands-free, hand-sensing devices will replace and/or upgrade existing PED-buttons, and allow the public the option to wave a hand in front of the hand sensing button — activating the crosswalk request at the controller, instead of pushing a button to cross.

With an initial launch of Q3 2020, SmartSense™ will be compatible with LIGHTGUARD’s complete line of lighted crosswalks and traffic safety equipment, including its Smart Crosswalk™ in-roadway warning lights, automatic (touchless) pedestrian detection bollard, solar wireless LED border-enhanced warning signs, and RRFB systems. SmartSense™ will operate at both controlled and uncontrolled intersections, and mid-block crosswalks where the company’s lighted crosswalks are commonly used.

The first SmartSense™ to be released is a supplemental push button sign kit with an embedded sensor that is compatible with LIGHTGUARD’s LGS-PBA manual push button mechanism, and most other manufacturer stations. The sign kit can be installed at new and existing manual push button stations, with the manual push button retaining its ability to send a call signal back to the controller to initiate a lighted crosswalk, PED countdown timer, or other output signal. The second SmartSense™ is a touchless crosswalk activation switch that completely replaces an existing manual push button (pictured).

Key SmartSense™ product line features include:

• Activation proximity range: 5 inches 
• No contact needed to activate 
• Replaces existing PED-button and/or PED-placards/signs 
• Simple electrical connections 
• Nominal 12 VDC operation; optional 110 VAC operation 
• Retrofittable into compatible push button stations 
• IR technology

Government agencies have set guidelines for social distancing, isolation, cleaning and disinfecting public spaces and keeping track of how someone infected might have infected other people. We at LIGHTGUARD are taking precautionary measures even farther by developing a modification of or replacement for one of the most publicly used and accessed traffic controlled devices in the public traffic safety market; a device that is touched by pedestrians 24/7 — the PED-button!

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About LightGuard Systems®:

For twenty-five years, LIGHTGUARD’s—pioneers in traffic safety and category creators of lighted crosswalk systems—has helped cities, municipalities, schools, traffic safety and transportation engineers build safer crossing environments for pedestrians, students, employees, the elderly and disabled. Customers choose LIGHTGUARD for its easy-to-install, robust, reliable and cutting-edge-technology systems, better pedestrian safety outcomes, and a safer, more effective public safety traffic calming method.

LIGHTGUARD’s solutions include:

• Lighted safety systems for crosswalk and pedestrian crossings
• Automatic (sensors, radar) and manual activation devices that trigger a lighted crosswalk warning/control system’s blinking lights, and/or crosswalk WALK signal timing
• Robust system controllers, data collection, storage and management devices
• Flashing LED pedestrian, stop, yield, school zone and custom signage
• Flashing LED Sign and Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon (RRFB) systems
  

Contact: info@lightguardsystems.com
Phone: (707) 542-4547
Fax: (707) 525-6333

2292 Airport Blvd.
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
www.lightguardsystems.com
www.crosswalks.com