Green Pace - A Watch App to Save Time.
Look closely at the traffic lights. What could go wrong?
Imagine an Apple Watch app (Green Pace) that used haptic feedback to pace your walk so you made the "Walk" signal at every traffic light. It would tap faster if walking faster let you make the signal, it would tap slower if you would hit a "Don't walk" signal anyway. This could save pedestrians perhaps 20% the time wasted standing on corners and breathing in fumes on each walk trip. What's required for this?
Well, obviously a watch with haptic feedback. Such already exists.
More importantly, we would need a real-time advance feed of when traffic signal phases changed, and their control plan. This is more difficult, since so many signals are "adaptive" to real time traffic. Many however are fixed time and amenable to this. There are a few examples, but they are newsworthy, not widespread. This should be standardized.
We would also need some API that would read the standardized signal feeds and match them against a Directions/Map app, and GPS, on the watch.
So the most interesting thing here is that the simplest of these technologies (the traffic signal) is the last one to be implemented. We have satellites, we have computers on our wrists, we have wireless telecommunications, but we don't know the timing of timed lightbulbs in most of the world.
NB: This traffic signal timing feed technology also has obvious applications for cars and trucks, which could speed up (potentially, subject to speed limits and prevailing traffic) or slow down (which is more interesting, as they can make a green wave by driving slower, and thus save energy and aggravation), or re-route, if they knew the green lights in advance.
There are some traffic signal feeds out there, but I don’t see standardization, I see proprietary standards. Some articles from a quick search. Mostly related to the company Connected Signals.
http://www.govtech.com/applications/App-Tells-Drivers-What-to-Expect-at-Traffic-Lights.html
https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2018/03/cars-in-d-c-know-when-traffic-lights-will-turn-green/
http://www.govtech.com/fs/automation/Gainesville-Fla-Greenlights-Countdown-App-for-Traffic-Signals.html
https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Real-time-traffic-signal-info-coming-to-Norwalk-13236409.php
https://newatlas.com/audi-connected-traffic-light-system/31159/