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Smart phones need “front-view mirrors.” Seriously, that would greatly help prevent the problem of people with their heads down looking at their phones, walking forward at the same time, and almost running into you. The human visual system simply isn’t designed to see over the head. That’s very much a blind spot, and in fact, the bind spots where the optic nerves come together in a bundle in your retina are located at the top of you vision.
- So why do people like to hold their mobile phones down in front of them with their arms? Why not hold them forward where they can see where they are walking? Well, we know the answer that to that. “Remember the gorilla arm.” It is far more comfortable to hold your arms down low than it is to hold them up high. So actually, when you see people walking around with their arms down and heads down at their smart phone, remember they are doing so because it feels more ergonomic.
That being said, if someone wants good ergonomics and safety at the same time when walking on a mobile phone, one needs to use “front-view mirrors.” I personally wouldn’t mind if I were approached by someone with a smart phone using front view mirrors, because I would be able to see their face through the front-view mirrors as they would be able to see mine, and it would be very clear from their walking navigational decisions whether they are actually trying to avoid walking into me or not.
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UPDATE 2019-11-21: Indeed this has become a thing with some smartphones.