Ford's ‘emoji jacket' improves cyclist safety

DETROIT: As part of the brand's Share The Road campaign, an initiative designed to promote the safe travel of cyclists on the same streets aså≈ cars, Ford has revealed a jacket designed to signal cyclists' intentions.

This coat was created so that those on a bicycle can better communicate with drivers without having to remove their hands from the handlebars or dangerously turn their head away from traffic.

A screen-like digital display has been integrated into the back panel which can show one of six emojis to convey cyclists' plans of action and emotions - a smiley face, a frowny face, a straight face, left and right arrows, and a hazard signal - which can be selected via a wireless remote on the bike's handlebars.

The Emoji Jacket prototype is currently one-of-a-kind; it hasn't been designed to go into production, but rather to demonstrate "how tensions could be eased by enabling riders to more easily and more clearly show drivers what their intentions are - and how they are feeling."