There's a great article over at Hackaday about
intelligent roadways .
The idea of a road is relatively simple - a durable path from point A to point B. Development of roadways usable for wheeled carriages has been perfected over the centuries. The Romans, for instance, used a base layer of crushed limestone that would let water flow out, preventing clay soil from turning into mud. Some Roman roads were topped with six sided capstones, also known as pavers, many of which still exist today. The invention of the horseless carriage necessitated roadways that could be used at high speeds. Tarmac, asphalt and concrete roads followed, and thus ends our short venture into the history of roads. Roadways simply haven't changed much since then. Sure, we've painted some lines on them, even etched grooves in some to prevent accidents, but the core technology of the road is the same as it was a hundred years ago. Until now.
Check out the design, built by
Solar Roadways (spoiler: they're
looking for funding ). With minor circuitry, these panels absorb solar energy by day, and stay illuminated at night. A mild current melts snow and keeps them ice-free. LEDs can provide the horizontal signage (cross walks, bike lanes, etc.) The possibilities start there. If I had one of these, I'd pave my driveway with them, with a bright, red "Go Away" at the end from 6PM to dawn.
- Prevents icy roads with built in heaters
- Eliminates fading road paint which can make it difficult to see at night along with the waste of money and chemicals to create and reapply said paint
- Eliminates a large dependancy on petrolium for use in asphalt
- Enables us to harness energy from the sun to do all of this while giving us the possibility of powering the entire country via our roads...things that just sit there year after year and cost us money can now pay for themselves and offer us energy in return!
- Reduction or elimination of Coal/Nuclear power for something clean
They have an Indigogo campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways , and I am contributing. Why can't we have more selfless, forward thinkers in our society? We are too focused on our immediate self gratification and pointless desires rather than making an effort to help the rest of the world and future generations.