Rooter Speculative street product design, 2026
Credits
Research Minjeong (Jay) Kim, Jeongseok Hwang
Product Design Jeongseok Hwang
System & Visual Minjeong (Jay) Kim
Urban Safety as Living Infrastructure
Oxford Street sees more knife crime than almost 15% of the rest of London combined. Before an assault, there's a pattern: when crowd density passes 3.5 people/m², personal space breaks down; when walking speed drops below 0.7 m/s, the body registers friction before the mind does.
Mapping the causal loops behind this - crowd design, policing, trust, gang culture - surfaced two high-leverage points: knife presence, and the near-total absence of collective vigilance on the street.
Field research
Simulation still
ROOTER is a fleet of autonomous street units that sense crowd density and velocity through LiDAR and thermal arrays, then reposition themselves before critical thresholds are crossed - redistributing pedestrian flow without blocking or policing anyone.
In a virtual crowd simulation of Oxford Circus, this cut time spent above critical density by 42%, turbulence by 48%, and escalation events by 42%.
ROOTER is a fleet of autonomous street units that sense crowd density and velocity through LiDAR and thermal arrays, then reposition themselves before critical thresholds are crossed - redistributing pedestrian flow without blocking or policing anyone.
In a virtual crowd simulation of Oxford Circus, this cut time spent above critical density by 42%, turbulence by 48%, and escalation events by 42%.
A second layer reframes the biological function of trees as swappable street modules - particulate capture, gas exchange, moisture regulation, biofiltration - targeting a 30% improvement in air quality at Oxford Circus.
Modules can be swapped according to street conditions.
Modules can be swapped according to street conditions.
Brand identity