Few things are more tedious than waiting for a bus. But imagine if your local bus stop allowed you to check your e-mails, share community information on a digital message board and monitor the air quality, as well as learning where your bus was. Designed by MIT architects and engineers (pictured right, l-r) Carlo Ratti, Julia Schlotter and Walter Nicolino, EyeStop is a new kind of interactive bus stop, designed to take the tedium out of waiting for the bus while encouraging more people to use public transport.
The EyeStop would be partially covered with touch-sensitive E Ink (an electronic display system which its makers say creates a readable experience closer to ink on paper than any other electronic display) and screens, and features state-of-the art sensing technologies and a variety of interactive services. Users can plan a bus trip on an interactive map, surf the web, monitor their exposure to pollutants and use their mobile devices as an interface with the bus shelter. They can also post personal ads and community announcements to an electronic bulletin board there, enhancing EyeStop’s functionality as a community gathering space.
MIT
Founded in 1861, MIT is an independent college dedicated to education and research. Its work includes achieving the first chemical synthesis of penicillin and vitamin A and inventing a way to duplicate photosynthesis to store solar energy. MIT’s conceptual studies into architecture and product design also include a building with ‘digital water’ walls, shown at the 2008 World Expo in Zaragoza.
web.mit.edu
