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When Jay Jung was a child walking the streets of Seoul with his grandparents, he saw them rushing at crossings or waiting helplessly for the next light. That early experience has driven him to develop a traffic signal system that adapts to pedestrians’ real-time speed — an approach he says could make intersections safer for older adults and people using mobility aids.
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Now 18 and a student at Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, Jung turned that childhood frustration into a technical project that recently earned top honors at a major science fair. At this year’s Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, judges awarded him the Behavioral and Social Sciences prize and a cash award for his entry, dubbed SmartBlink.
Jung developed the concept after learning to code in middle school and focused on creating technology that responds to people rather than prioritizing vehicle flow. He says his goal is practical: to produce systems local governments can pilot and scale in places where pedestrian speed and accessibility vary widely.
How SmartBlink works
At its core, SmartBlink is an adaptive traffic signal powered by computer vision and machine learning. Instead of relying on fixed timers, it analyzes the first few steps of a crossing pedestrian to estimate how long they will need and lengthens the walk phase when necessary.
Key capabilities include:
- Real-time estimation of walking pace from initial strides
- Detection of assistive devices such as wheelchairs, canes and crutches
- Training for different lighting conditions so the system functions day and night
Why this matters now
Across many cities, pedestrian timing is set to accommodate average walking speeds, which can leave slower pedestrians at risk. Adjusting signals dynamically could reduce hurried crossings and the chance of collisions — an immediate safety benefit for aging populations and those with mobility limitations.
At the same time, deploying such systems raises practical questions for municipalities: how to integrate with existing traffic control infrastructure, how adjustments might affect vehicle flow, and how to ensure privacy and reliability in diverse environments.
Next steps and broader implications
Jung says he is seeking partnerships with technology firms and local governments to run pilot programs tailored to individual communities. He emphasizes designing for local conditions rather than a one-size-fits-all rollout.
The potential upside extends beyond a single intersection: a network of adaptive signals could reshape urban mobility by prioritizing vulnerable road users and informing future standards for traffic control systems.
SmartBlink remains a prototype pending real-world trials, but the project highlights how small, human-centered engineering ideas can translate into tangible safety improvements — and why cities might consider revisiting long-standing signal-timing practices.
