Also inspired by Doc Remulac's Smiley Face Turn Signal. I think he's absolutely correct about the sociology behind a smile being more likely to convince a motorist to let you into their lane space. It's harder to turn a blind eye to someone who's looking right at you making eye contact, so even if the smile doesn't hold much sway, making eye contact is a good way to guilt trip them into letting you over. What I've noticed over the last decade and a half of taxi driving is that hand/arm signals also tend to work really well, and I assume for much the same reason. Everybody around you knows you saw my arm sticking out the window.
Well, making eye contact with a car to the side of and slightly behind you can sometimes be dangerous. I've nearly run into cars ahead of me because I was so intently looking over my shoulder to make my lane change I wasn't paying enough attention in front of me. Rolling your window down to stick your arm out isn't always a great experience, especially if you're on a call (via Bluetooth of course) or driving in inclement weather.
Enter the Robotic Arm Turn Signal! It's exactly what it sounds like. A human sized robotic arm on the driver's side of the vehicle, which can be stowed when not in use in any number of creative ways (personally, I like the idea of it being on the door just slightly behind the window edge, at an upward angle 'grasping' the roof edge, so it looks like a real arm held out the window in that oh-so-common rest position) and when your turn signal is activated for that side, it makes the appropriate gesture. This is to be used in conjunction with your normal turn signals, or during the daylight possibly instead of them. Could even be linked to your brakes to draw extra attention to the fact that you're slowing down, to help avoid being rear-ended in heavy or high-speed traffic.-- 21 Quest, Nov 16 2023 Trafficators https://en.wikipedi...he%20door%20pillar. [bs0u0155, Nov 16 2023] Gotta hand it to ya...-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Nov 16 2023 So an arm shaped trafficator? <link>-- bs0u0155, Nov 16 2023 Wow, I've never seen nor heard of a trafficator before! But yes, am arm shaped and robotically articulated version of that. The idea is to make it look, at first glance anyway, like the driver is actually sticking his arm out and signaling.-- 21 Quest, Nov 16 2023 random, halfbakery