This idea is for a small LED Sign board sized about 6 inches by 10 inches(for easy fit in a glovebox, trunk or under a seat) The sign has a small text entry pad on one side with an LCD display and key pad,kind of like what you might find on a label printer.
The front is a flat panel array of Bright LEDs. It would also have a solar panel array to allow it to charge in the sun, and it could also have an inertial charger(shake to charge). An integrated stand allows sign to be placed on the ground or on the roof of the car much like a road flare or safety triangle.
When the need arises to communicate information to another motorist in an emergency the sign has some unique capabilities.
1) A simple switch allows one to toggle from Regular to Mirror Image to allow motorists to read the sign through their rear view mirrors("Emergency Please Move", "Your tire is flat").
Display could be pre-programmed with a variety of messages and features such as "HELP", "Loose Load", "Smoke" or "LR Tire Low" etc. It could also be programmed to flash rapidly to attract attention, display arrows to warn traffic etc.
This could be made using low cost existing technology and hardware and I suspect could be made available as a normal piece of hardware in new cars(with for example integrated storage rack)
Beyond use for road safety such a device would be small enough(a smaller size unit could be made as well) and lite enough to be carried by people participating in outdoor sports for use as a signaling device in case of emergency.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 16 2007 LED display http://gizmodo.com/...your-car-230579.php [po, Aug 16 2007] Closer... http://shopledautho...z-100-er-detail.htmBut doesn't include a stand, the ability to reverse text, self power mechanism, or 2-size text - so fair enough. [theleopard, Aug 16 2007] You made me do it http://www.selectri...s.com/ppdseries.htmMore than moderately baked. [globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007] Do we need to go on? http://www.selectri...m/7120C_ledsign.htm [globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007] An Idea panned for being impractical and overly complex Green_20Retrofit_20for_20Classic_20Cars [jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007] [-] read the help file(this is in there), this is so over baked its charcole at this point.
Pat on the back for the effort, thats alot of text ;P-- evilpenguin, Aug 16 2007 auto(birthday)bun + burnt to a crisp.-- k_sra, Aug 16 2007 That's not a bad idea.
A portable flashing sign whose message you can customize. The preponderance of LEDs at the side of the road flashing "Bush Sucks" that it will certanly result in notwithstanding (or perhaps withstanding after all...) this gets my bun.
By the way, this could have been stated in two short paragraphs. Then again, we don't give prizes around here for brevity, so...-- globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007 jhom, let your imagination rip and give us some really half-baked ideas. if your ideas are even moderately baked they are not worth the effort.-- po, Aug 16 2007 The device itself is baked, but I don't think it is being developed and available quite as described here. Which means that this idea is one of those "You Know That Thing That is Commonly Used In Application X? It Should Be Tweaked A Bit, Shrunk By About 15%, Then Used In Application Y"
Also known around here, affectionately, as "YKTTTICUIAX? ISBTABSBA15%TUIAY".
I bunned the idea because, though baked as a device, it's a nice application for it. Then I neutraled it when I realized YKTTTICUIAX? ISBTABSBA15%TUIAY ideas may not really be called half-baking.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007 <bangs head against wall>-- po, Aug 16 2007 I want a tail for all to be wrapped quite around me with StarChaser whispering panic pin numbers in my head whilst I spy hullaballoons in the sky above me while I sleep perchance to dream in my night garden...-- po, Aug 16 2007 Po!!!! You.....you..... you capitalized!!!!-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 16 2007 Let me take a few bangs for you, po.
You'll note that nobody said WIBNI. I said YKTTTICUIAX? ISBTABSBA15%TUIAY, which I think if you are honest was fair.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007 Since Ideas must now be artistic or silly or completely pointless to be accepted I have removed my defense of this idea which appears to be original and not known to exist as described but is quite obviously not silly or artistic or completely pointless and as such "not worthy of the effort".
It would be helpful if perhaps someone could share with me a reason as to why this idea should be boned as a "Bad Idea" other than that it is not as creative as other ideas that are presented(IE it does not include bees or jam or banjos or little green men or custard or pirates or invented words or imaginary physics or any other sorts of things one might have spring to mind)-- jhomrighaus, Aug 16 2007 I think it's "artistic OR silly". I quite liked it anyway.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 16 2007 thank you [maxwellBuchanan] for that positive comment, it helps.
//which I think if you are honest was fair//
I think that assessment is at least fair on its surface, however does it make the idea any less original or relevant? I would point out that probably 50% of the ideas on the bakery would meet that criteria as well depending on how you look at them.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 16 2007 [jhom] be a bit less defensive.
Listen.
Say I post an idea for a small yellow dinner plate with handles on it for throwing. Then someone tells me plates are baked, but they can't find a link to a small yellow one with handles. Or they say frisbees are baked, but they can't find a link to a small yellow ceramic one. This doesn't mean the idea is "original and not known to exist" in such a way that makes it half-baked, by this community's standards.
This is essentially what you have here. A small yellow throwable dinner plate.
Mapping the analogy: (plate = LED display) small = portable yellow = solar powered throwable = for roadside/personal use (as opposed to advertising, say)-- globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007 Sometimes users bone ideas because they don't like them, or for a dozen other reasons. This gets my positive approval (+) If I had one, I'd use it for deceitful purposes.-- xenzag, Aug 16 2007 [xenxag], you can buy one. Check out the links. Use the third one down for your deceitful purposes, and you've baked the idea. This is why this idea is not half-baked.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007 [Global] So, an idea to take a well-known musical device (say, a set of organ pipes) and attach them to a car would be, by your criteria, baked? Pot, kettle, low albedo.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 16 2007 So using your logic lets apply that to your top rated idea Anti-Gulability Herbal Supplement which is a placebo pill(widely known to exist) using the placebo effect(widely known to exist) and a new symptom to treat gulability(also widely known to exist) Certainly it is original and not known to exist as I could not buy one at the store today. The difference appears to be that your idea is silly(and perhaps creative I guess) and mine is practical would you not agree?-- jhomrighaus, Aug 16 2007 Nice response.
Unfortunately I have elsewhere already admitted that this one, buns and all, is really just a rant cleverly disguised as an idea.
Plus it wouldn't really work. I think all the buns are because folks are in agreement with the disguised rant.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007 [Maxwell], the car pipe organ is half-baked, because it would take some complex manufacture, and is novel and interesting.
The hullabaloon can be described in the same way, though it is far more novel and interesting.
The problem here is that what is added on to something widely available is minimal, and the main new thing is its application.
I have already stated that i like the reapplication. Thus I at first bunned it. But using an existing thing in a new way is not half-baking. I don't think.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 16 2007 Look what I found in the help file [marked-for-deletion] redundant - a very similar invention already exists on the halfbakery. Any invention involving back windows of cars and LEDs spelling out messages is likely to earn this tag. Other frequently posted inventions include:
* gyms that produce electricity * talking "rumble strips" by the side of the highway * a spike sticking out of a steering wheel * a machine for recording your dreams * a halfbakery "worst" list-- dentworth, Aug 17 2007 So if using existing things in new ways is not half baking then what pray tell is?-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 also look at the category, it has several digital signs.-- dentworth, Aug 17 2007 I doubt there will be many here who would support the notion that an existing object used in a new way is half-baked idea, at least with respect to products/inventions (as opposed to TV shows, politics, etc.). Maybe it depends on how novel the application is.
But the proposition is testable - let's let the experiment run its course.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 17 2007 This is not a sign that sits in your back window and sends silly messages to other cars. It is a digital, programmable safety device along the lines of a road flare or emergency triangle that would be stored away in your car until an emergency occurs.
Global you didn't answer the question, what is half baking if its not using existing things in new ways(ie cream cheese rings is cream cheese used in a new way)-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 In my opinion, it's a good idea.
The LED display itself was a great idea. This is a good idea.
I have said all along that I don't _think_ this is half-baking. I could be wrong.
Like pornography, I don't know what it is, but I know when I see it.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 17 2007 It's not a bad idea. The fact that all of the technology is usable is a bonus, and it's combined use has not been implemented before.
However, the only people who would use this are emergency services, who already have a multitude of bright flashing signs in their vans.
I dispute the [m-f-d], for reasons explained in my link, but still remain neutral.-- theleopard, Aug 17 2007 Well nobody(myself included) ever implied it was a GREAT idea, but it is a legitimate idea and that I guess is my point. I couldn't find anywhere online a low cost 100% portable safety oriented LED display of any sort let alone with any of the features discussed.
[theleopard] I think the point of my idea is that there are multiple uses for this type of product that make it something that every car could be equipped with(I cant imagine you couldn't make something like this in bulk for more than $50) Its use most certainly would not be limited to only emergency services personnel.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 //It would be helpful if perhaps someone could share with me a reason as to why this idea should be boned as a "Bad Idea" other than that it is not as creative as other ideas that are presented//
//Well nobody(myself included) ever implied it was a GREAT idea, but it is a legitimate idea and that I guess is my point.//
There's the point - you said it yourself - I don't come to the bakery to see *legitimate* ideas - I come here to see GREAT ideas (for the record many of the best ideas are brazenly illegitimate) It's not about the idea's legitimacy, it's about the ideas greatness!
If you come up with an idea that you don't personally get excited by, then don't post it. Or post it, and see how it gets received.
When I read an idea, I want to be enthused, I want to be excited, I want to be educated and entertained. It doesn't have to be fantastic, it doesn't have to be outlandish, silly or full of bees - but if YOU don't think it's a great idea, then how can you expect anyone else to?
If any of us wanted to, we could all spend our time churning out thousands of 'legitimate' ideas - standing by them and arguing about just how god-damned legitimate they were. But where's the joy in that?
Buns and Bones are emotional things - there's never going to be a logic, or a formula to it - and thank goodness for that small mercy.
The 'rules' are there to try and weed out the obvious non-starters, but being rules, they have to be measurable - which means that it's perfectly possible for an intelligent person to fashion an idea that doesn't break any of them, yet which still fails to excite some members of the audience.
And you're right, what we have here is a perfectly legitimate idea.
//Since Ideas must now be artistic or silly or completely pointless to be accepted//
They don't! - an idea is an idea - it comes to the poster without their invitation - it either excites them, or it doesn't. And that should be the measure they use in personally deciding whether to post it or not. Whether it's silly, or artistic or not is a function of the idea - the acceptance of it comes from how interesting it is.-- zen_tom, Aug 17 2007 I agree on the whole what you say [tom], this idea for instance would be better found on a ligitimate idea site with a view in the future for production, if indeed it was successful among the denizens of such a website.
However I disagree to some extent about what you believe makes a great idea. To be sure it doesn't have to be fantastic, outlandish, silly or indeed full of bees.
But it helps to fill it with bees.-- theleopard, Aug 17 2007 Hmph...I'm not saying particularly that this idea shouldn't be here, or that it would be better placed on some other site. I'm just trying to answer [jhomrighaus]' questions about people's reactions.
Imagine that ideas are like children - how would you feel if your father stood up in front of your class and said, "Well, nobody said he's a GREAT boy - but he is legitimate." Phew. Well that's all-right then.-- zen_tom, Aug 17 2007 //Hmph...//
Did you take your camel to work again, [tom]?-- theleopard, Aug 17 2007 Hmph...there are some very good practical ideas on here that are halbaked and have ended up in the hands of the consumer or whatnot after the final baking process has been implemented. Then there are the others that have also ended up on the shelves in some form or other or remain here for your glee.(Not A part song scored for three or more usually male and unaccompanied voices that were popular in the 18th century, think joy)
The name of this site is halfbakery create/make what you will from it.-- skinflaps, Aug 17 2007 Seriously guys, I know they're reliable work animals but not in the office. HR would have a field day if they knew!-- theleopard, Aug 17 2007 Mine needs a squeeze.
Back to..I saw a policeman doing this not so long ago(not the camel, holding a LED display)-- skinflaps, Aug 17 2007 I'm not sure I would classify my statement that this was not a "great" idea to imply that I didn't feel passionate or excited about the idea(I spent a couple of hours drawing sketches and thinking about options etc.) I was simply responding to the comparison of my idea in relation to the idea of using LEDs for signs in the first place which is an idea of far greater import than any idea I might have.
I would not have posted the idea if I wasn't excited about it or think it was great, I'm just realistic enough to know that I am NOT the next Leonardo DaVinci bound to guide the minds of future generations with my revolutionary ideas.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 [jhom] The probelm is that this IS a great idea. We all should have one. We should all be able to communicate with other drivers using LED displays. More importantly this is great idea that EVERYBODY ALREADY THOUGHT OF. Your too late. That's why it is listed in the help file.-- evilpenguin, Aug 17 2007 No one thought or this being a safety device for use in emergencies(hence why you cant find one for sale) Everyone did think of them for mounting on the back of your car to send novelty messages to other people. If you don't like it thats fine but don't call it baked or redundant just because you don't like it.
This idea is for a specialized piece of emergency safety equipment that incorporates LED text display as one of a number of safety and emergency related features.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 Just because [evilpenguin] is allergic to reading carefully to understand that by-now well-reiterated distinction doesn't mean you have to indulge his laziness, don't you think, [jhom]?
I don't think the problem is that it's baked, the question is whether the idea is a half-baked one.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 17 2007 I agree however it is the trend here that the minute someone yells "Baked" or "see the help file" others immediately bone the idea based on that sometimes incorrect assessment of the idea. My hope is the idea would be rated and commented on for its content and merits rather than on a lazy bakers snap assessment. A comment such as " this seems similar to this other idea. What makes it distinct or different from that one?" allows for a continued dialog and expansion/improvement of this or future ideas. A statement of "MFD see the file WIBINIetc etc etc." immediately stifles the discussion, Any attempt to refute that assesment is met with accusations of fishing for votes or being overly defensive or a crusade to prove the assessment to be correct. At that point the discussion stops the creativity and improvement stop and the idea is lost.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 Perhaps, and I don't want to be stepping on anybody's egg shells here, but just perhaps rather than be solar powered, this contraption could be powered by some kind of bee dynamo?
I mean, it's crazy enough to work...-- theleopard, Aug 17 2007 // I don't think the problem is that it's baked, the question is whether the idea is a half-baked one//
This is another funny point, and evilpenguin is known for this to and thats accusing ideas of being impractical(there are countless of them here) or overly costly or too complex. Is this not the exact opposite of your point about what is half baked and what is'nt(this idea isn't because its not creative enough)
See link for example of an idea that was panned for being complex and impractical.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 I think the pornography comment applies. I can't describe it, but I know what it is when I see it.
Without surveying first to verify, I think the tendency is that the more whimsical ideas are bunned for complexity and impracticality, while the more serious one are boned for it. This arrangement suits me just fine.-- globaltourniquet, Aug 17 2007 So what makes the Panic Pin a half-baked idea?-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 I deleted your last anno because it did not apply to the idea or the discussion at hand. You have been here for two weeks and seem hardly in a position to judge how I normally behave or not, I have recently(in the last week) had a series of discourses on the way people behave on the bakery(which has changed recently) These discussions have been limited to my ideas as well. If(which you clearly have not done) you were to review my history on the bakery you would find that the opinions you have formed about my motives and behavior are not supported in the long term. You will also find that such discussions do from time to time erupt between various bakers(not me) and the come and go, that is the nature of a community. In the mean time it is my right to exclude comments from my idea that i do not wish to have included(thats the way Jutta set things up) I have until recently never deleted an anno from one of my ideas however the nature of the annos of late have been overtly negative, divisive and personal in nature and that is counter to what the bakery is about and as such I chose to delete them from my idea.
As to the comment //constant Ibsenesque complaints// I would say two things, first you may choose to interpret them as complaints but if you read what I have written they are generally questions or statements I am not complaining about anything. I am sharing and discussing one point of view. and second, I actually(having looked up the word) am quite flattered by this comment. To be compared to such a noted playwright known for his clear thinking, direct commentary and lock of conformity to triteness and simplicity is a vindication of my own beliefs and ideals.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 I have no difficulty understanding what the bakery is about, I just happen to feel that we cycle from an open inclusive group that is interested in debate and discussion to a group that becomes moody and cliquish and chooses to dismiss discourse in favor of silliness and wordplay. The baker is what each of us makes it and we all have our ups and downs with the group and we all have our disagreements, the point for me is to be clear and open and fair rather than dismissive and closeminded.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 Oh and by the way I really like the "i'm gonna tell Jutta on you" threat. I'm sure she's kept up on the discussions that are going on and has clearly chosen not to intervene(as past experience as shown she will do so in short order if she is unhappy with what has transpired)
I think we will just have to agree to disagree. Thats what makes great communities great is the ability to do just that.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 getting back to the idea for a moment, something tells me that you are gonna need some big sign.-- po, Aug 17 2007 //constant Ibsenesque complaints// perfect vocabulary for this instance.
Sorry, [jhom] I don't like this idea, and I'm going to bone it and crap all over you and your anno's.
Stop beating dead horses, its sad and annoying. Just put up a better idea, rather than try to rebuild bad ones.
And, really, the help file states a VERY SIMILAR idea, while not this idea verbatium, it is indeed LEDS THAT DISPLAY MESSAGES INSIDE A CAR. My god, just becasuse the LEDs are in your hand and not mounted on the back window...... sorry ranting again.
I did read it, Im not lazy....
I am so blantant on this idea because I had this exact idea MYSELF. I wanted to post it, but I read the help file first. Now my version wasn't solar powered, but was handheld. It would have been my first post, the reason I made a HB SN. But instead I went with electric supercharger (look at my profile) and it got boned like crazy because its an already exsisting idea.
[jhom] make your answer to this under 100 words please, or just call me a towel.-- evilpenguin, Aug 17 2007 You are a rectangular piece of absorbent cloth or paper product, sometimes recycled, that is used for; drying, wiping or soaking up of liquid materials most typically comprised of water infused with various assorted ions of metallic elements( such as Iron, Lead, chlorine, sodium, calcium, copper and zinc ), a barrier that is reclined upon while undertaking certain outdoor activities(sunbathing, swimming, reading etc.), cleaning and removal of dirt and debris from dirty or soiled surfaces such as counter tops, windows, floors or tables and for protecting ones modesty and privacy following certain types of hygiene activities normally undertaken by human beings.-- jhomrighaus, Aug 17 2007 //or just call me a towel//
Hey! Towel for Mr. Penguin!-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 17 2007 thats 102 words, sir-- evilpenguin, Aug 18 2007 Yes, but he was calling you a towel (I made it 101)-- zen_tom, Aug 18 2007 random, halfbakery