What if a pedestrian crossing could use colours to grab the attention of pedestrians glued to their phones? Highlight a child dashing onto the road without looking? Light up pedestrians to make them easier to see when high-sided vehicles are around?

It’s all possible. And the idea has been created by Saatchi & Saatchi London for UK insurance company, Direct Line.

Direct Line’s Smart Crossing is a responsive road crossing that differentiates between vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists automatically. It uses computer vision to “see” exactly what’s happening around it and an LED road surface to adapt its markings and signals in real-time without manual input. It can widen, narrow, appear and disappear.

“It is a little bit Blade Runner, and it is a little bit Tron, but I think that’s great,” stated Saatchi & Saatchi London creative director, William John.

The Smart Crossing in only a prototype at the moment but Saatchi & Saatchi and Direct Line are hoping that its open source technology might be picked up and used in real life. Direct Line’s previous invention, Fleetlights, was adopted by a local lifeboat service in Norfolk, England.

Saatchi & Saatchi London & Direct Line insurance light your way home

The Smart Crossing technology was developed in partnership with urban design company Umbrellium, using research from the Transport Research Laboratory.

Its campaign launched with the teaser film above. A longer-form storytelling spot and a film for cinema will be released towards the end of October.

Sam Wise, head of planning at Saatchi & Saatchi London, stated, “It is easy for people to put insurance into a box marked, “problems with my car or house,” and only think about it once a year. Great insurance is actually something much bigger than that. It is the partner that allows us to meet the uncertainties of the future with confidence. With these activations, we are reminding people what great insurance should feel like and challenging them to reimagine what role we could play in a changing world.”