Technology can improve our lives. The days of the overhead street light are almost over. Instead, roads whose lines glow in the dark are being designed and tested. Like computer screens, our future roads will let us know about traffic patterns, and shifts in weather. Here are some videos of the state of art as it is being tested right now.
Below is the future of roads being tested in the Netherlands. The design challenge is how to respond to the demands to cut electrical costs and conserve energy. Glow in the dark roads make obsolete the the overhead road light while providing a much safer driving experience.
Here is another road solution, called Starpath: a system of paving roads, sidewalks, and paths with materials that glow in the dark; cuts down on energy and enhances safety to those areas where lights have been cut.
Can almost 17,000,000 Youtube hits be wrong? Well...maybe. But this video about solar panelled roads is entertaining and pretty cool.
These roads are all very cool, but they may be too short-sighted in their designs not foreseeing the emergence of self-driving automobiles whose growing intelligence will rely on a more sophisticated way of navigating roads than street signs and road lines. With humans out of the driver-seat, there will be less demand for smart-roads, or they will have to be designed with a different set of features that compliment the intelligence of self-driving automobiles.
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