Industrial - Bachelor

GroundView1 – Vehicle Reverse Path Projector

GroundView1 is a safety device for motor vehicles. Equipped with a LiDAR sensor and laser projector, it is designed to enhance the both the driver's and pedestrian's awareness of reversing vehicles. The device projects the reversing path of the vehicle on the ground for nearby pedestrians to see, while the LiDAR projector ensure that the driver is able to stop the car promptly in the case of an obstruction behind the vehicle.

Richard Wu

Tragically, one child, often a toddler, is run over in their driveway every week in Australia.

Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, 2020.

The problem

The safety of pedestrians has always been a major point of concern for reversing in motor vehicles. (Pluss, 2023). According to the department of planning, transport and infrastructure (DPTI, 2020), on average, seven children are killed each year and 60 are seriously injured after being hit or run over by a motor vehicle at home. While the introduction of reversing safety technologies, such as reversing cameras, has significantly reduced the rate of back-over crashes (making them 41% less likely), current solutions remain fundamentally limited. Existing safety technology is mainly driver-centric, focusing on assisting the person behind the wheel (e.g., cameras and in-car sensors). This approach is fundamentally flawed as it addresses only half of the problem. A comprehensive safety system must integrate the perspectives of all road users, especially the vulnerable pedestrian. By failing to directly engage or alert the pedestrian, these designs are incomplete and constitute a significant oversight in holistic safety design.

A graph representing survey results from the question "What locations do you find yourself most cautious around, when reversing?"

Research

Our primary research, including surveys, revealed a significant disconnect in driver perception versus actual risk. The survey results show that the majority of drivers (approx. 77%) report being most cautious when reversing in car parks, which is the environment they perceive as having the highest danger. However, statistics from the Jamieson Trauma Institute (2020) indicates that the vast majority of reversing accidents involving children occur in home driveways. This suggests that the driver’s familiarity with the environment may lead to them paying less attention in such areas, as they feel more comfortable with reversing out of their own driveways. This disparity highlights a crucial problem with driver awareness and comfort in their home environment.

The Idea

The development of this product began with the question “How can we design a product that is able to target both halves of the problem?”.

Existing solutions, being primarily driver-centric, which creates an opportunity for a product that also gives pedestrians a better chance to respond to imminent danger.

In today’s day and age, it is not uncommon for pedestrians to be walking around with their heads down. Whether it is a young pedestrian with their face buried in their phone or an older pedestrian who is watching the pavement in front of them to ensure they don’t trip over anything, sometimes it’s inevitable to have pedestrians walking around that aren’t paying full attention to their surroundings.

Introducing – Groundview 1

the design

The major components of GroundView1 are comprised of the exterior casing, device-to-car mount, LiDAR sensor, laser projector and it’s circuit board.

Since the product is intended for outdoor usage, as the device would be mounted to the back of the vehicle, the exterior surface of the product features a minimalistic and smooth design to minimise gaps and edges that may collect dirt and dust. The shell of the device is manufactured with injection-molded ABS plastic. Keeping the form and overall size of the shell minimal will ensure that the cost for manufacturing is as low as possible to make the device affordable for all users.

Other components that are also injection-molded with ABS includes the car mount. The mount is designed so that users have the option to screw the device onto the back of their vehicles, however since the device is small and lightweight, a strong double-sided adhesive tape would be sufficient in mounting the device most of the time.

The device can be powered through the vehicle’s cigarette lighter or any powered USB ports. The device does not require an internal battery pack as it is not necessary for the device to be powered when the vehicle is off, therefore the power for the device will only be temporarily stored on the supercapacitors on the circuit board.

A free mobile application would be made available for users to download and use to calibrate the laser projection. Users will be able to select from a range of caution messages within the app, allowing customisation for various vehicle sizes and projection language.

LiDAR Sensor

GroundView1’s design is targeted towards both enhancing the awareness of the driver and the surrounding pedestrians. This product gives pedestrians a higher chance of noticing reversing vehicles, as a large caution sign is projected directly on the ground for them to see. GroundView1 makes it extremely hard to miss a reversing car, whether a car is reversing from around a corner, or a pedestrian is crossing behind a reversing car in a driveway.

The LiDAR sensor is able to detect pedestrians and objects behind the vehicle up to 8m, during general low-speed vehicle reversing, this makes the LiDAR sensor a much better detection system for reversing vehicles as it is also able to operate during poor weather and lighting conditions.

Laser Projector

The laser is a custom-made component that is designed to fit inside the casing of the device whilst being able to project the necessary content onto the ground.

Through a quick in-app calibration, the vehicle’s size can be adjusted so that the laser projection size is appropriate. The mobile application also gives users to ability to customise the warning message in different languages or styles, making the device adaptable for all usage contexts.

Disclaimer: The visible laser lines on the image to the right, coming from the device, is for visual reference only and will not be visible from the actual product.

Final prototype

Final Cad rendering

Current Colour options

Preview of device powered on

Disclaimer: Laser lines projected from the device is for visual reference only, Laser lights are only visible on the ground for actual product

Richard Wu

Richard is an aspiring Industrial Designer and Mechanical Engineer. Driven by a desire to make the world better, he designs innovative products with an eye toward minimalist technology. He is passionate about designing thoughtful, impactful products that serve both people and the planet.