Gus Salavatore Calabrese wrote: > I am really happy to read all the useful and inciteful ideas put forth. > > I realize I did not supply enough information in my original post. > > ----> I have been designing a vehicle tail light which would start > flashing at a slow rate > as the brakes were applied and at a faster rate as the brakes were > applied harder. > Ideally this unit would be standalone except for power ( which might > be solar provided ). > > I see no way to differentiate between braking and going downhill. Any > ideas ? <--- > > My desire is to build a product that will sell for $30-$50 max. Less > would be great. > The product requires NO skill to install. If it requires power that > could come from the > cigarette lighter socket. The user can put it in the back window or > mount it anywhere > they want. > The desired result is to have the light FLASH to alert other drivers > to wake up. > False positives are not that bad. False negatives are to be avoided. > If it works correctly 90% of the time it is certainly better than > "nothing". > > Your comments made me realize that another product could measure the > speed at which a car was approaching the rear and flash the brake lights > if the closing vector was excessive. In addition, if an Italian > driver ( note > my last name ) is following on the bumper, the light would flash. > While I'm aware that The World Is A Very Big Place, I have to wonder how many places, like my state, restrict the use of blinking lights in civilian vehicles, other than turn signals. - Rich -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist