Lumigrids LED Terrain Illuminator for Bicyles

As you've probably already noticed by now, when you're looking at something directly from the point of origin of a light source, things kind of look "flat" (take a look at whole of those pictures you took with the flash on). The same effect applies to cars and bikes, making it harder to notice bumps and irregularities on the road - but of course being more problematic to people riding a bike, as it may cause a nasty fall.

This Lumigrids isn't a real product (at least not yet) but considering you can already have something similar with some laser pointers, I guess it wouldn't be that hard to actually make it. By projecting a grid pattern on the floor, the rider can easily notice any and all terrain change instantly. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if car companies would begin using similar systems for their predictive suspension systems (although they would probably opt for invisible infra-red light so it wouldn't interfere with regular lighting nor serve as a distraction for other drivers on the road).

I can't really say if such a system would be able to completely replace regular lightning (I imagine not all riders would be happy to drive around looking just at a grid of light in front of them), but maybe it could be used in tandem with other lighting systems: the regular lights illuminating things farther away, the light grid alerting for more imminent "threats".

In any case... even if it had no real useful purpose... it would certainly make our bicycles and streets look way cooler at night! :)