Problem : Whilst driving to work this morning, the sun was directly ahead. Although I know the road, others do not and the roadsigns are impossible to see.

Solution : Reflective road signs with the letters cut out. When driving, the background will be illuminated and the distance to the nearest town will be laced with an angelic corona.

For night time driving, the entire sign will glow except for the text, don't know how well this will work but the letters should be legible.
-- Trodden, Aug 12 2003

You'd have to be careful though, as many letters have unattached center regions if you cut them out. Perhaps a transparent backing could be bonded on to hold these bits in place.
-- BigBrother, Aug 12 2003


stained glass window signs
-- po, Aug 12 2003


... and perhaps some darkening and UV filter (like the material in sunglasses) in front of that so you don't fry your corneas trying to figure out if you're obeying the speed limit.
-- jivetalkinrobot, Aug 12 2003


BigBrother : I was thinking along the lines of regular stencil typefaces with skinny arms holding the centre pieces.

Also, been thinking, I dont know how easy the sign will be to read when the sun is directly behind you, it might be a bit glarey.
-- Trodden, Aug 13 2003


You could retrofit existing signs by drilling a dotted outline with a robotic drill.

I think a translucent* sign would be more effective, but how do you balance maximum reflectivity with translucence? Maybe there are suitable materials.

*Translucency is better than transparency, as most signs have a punched metal stand backing them. A translucent sign would diffuse light through and lessen the silhouette of the stand
-- FloridaManatee, Aug 13 2003


Put some glow-in-the-dark filler into the backing of the translucent sign to make them more visible at night.
-- kbecker, Aug 14 2003



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