These Smart Roads Could Change the Future of Driving

Summary

The script explores the future of transportation with emerging smart road technologies. Integrated Roadways' Smart Pavement uses embedded sensors to detect vehicle data and alert emergency services, potentially reducing accidents. V2X technology enables vehicle-to-everything communication, enhancing safety. Self-healing asphalt and electrified roads in Sweden and Israel are also highlighted, suggesting a future where roads repair themselves and charge electric vehicles, revolutionizing driving and reducing reliance on gas stations.

Takeaways

• 🔧 Technology is becoming pervasive, with innovations like smart refrigerators and watches.
• 🚗 Smart roads are being developed to enhance safety and efficiency.
• 📡 Integrated Roadways is testing Smart Pavement in Colorado to detect vehicle positions and accidents.
• 🚑 Smart Pavement can alert emergency services in case of accidents.
• 🔗 V2X technology enables vehicles to communicate with each other and with road infrastructure.
• 🛤️ V2X could significantly reduce accidents and fatalities when widely implemented.
• 🔨 Dutch scientists are testing self-repairing roads using steel wool and induction machines.
• ⏳ This self-repairing technology could double the lifespan of roads.
• 🔋 Sweden has introduced an electrified road that charges electric vehicles as they drive.
• ⚡ Other countries like Israel, France, the U.K., and South Korea are also testing wireless charging roads.
• 🚙 Smart roads can potentially eliminate the need for gasoline-powered cars and reduce road maintenance.

Q & A

What is the significance of smart roads in the context of modern technology?

Smart roads are significant as they represent the integration of technology into infrastructure to enhance safety, efficiency, and potentially reduce the need for gasoline-powered cars and gas stations.

How does the Smart Pavement technology work as described by Integrated Roadways?

Smart Pavement is a system of concrete slabs embedded with digital technology and fiber-optic mesh that detects the position, speed, and weight of vehicles, allowing a computer to calculate and respond to incidents like crashes or vehicles veering off the road.

What is the purpose of the V2X technology in the context of smart roads?

V2X, or Vehicle to Everything, is a short-range wireless technology that enables vehicles to communicate with each other and with infrastructure like stoplights and guardrails, potentially warning drivers of hazards and improving road safety.

How does the self-healing asphalt technology work to prevent potholes?

The self-healing asphalt technology involves mixing steel wool into the asphalt. An induction machine creates an oscillating magnetic field that induces an electric current in the steel wool, heating it and melting the bitumen to repair cracks that could lead to potholes.

What is the potential impact of implementing V2X technology throughout Colorado according to the consulting firm?

The consulting firm suggests that implementing V2X technology throughout Colorado could lead to a significant reduction in car accidents and deaths, estimating more than 85,000 fewer accidents and 300 fewer deaths over 20 years.

How does the electrified road technology in Sweden work for charging electric vehicles?

The electrified road in Sweden has a track in the center of the road. When an electric vehicle drives over it, an arm attached to the vehicle connects to the track, allowing the road to charge the vehicle's battery as it drives.

What is the advantage of using steel wool in the self-healing asphalt?

The steel wool acts as a conductive material that, when heated by an induced electric current, melts the bitumen between the stones, effectively sealing cracks and extending the road's lifespan.

What are the safety measures in place to prevent electrocution on the electrified road in Sweden?

The electricity on the electrified road is on a separate rail about 5 centimeters below the surface and only flows when a car is attached to that section of the road, ensuring that pedestrians are not at risk of electrocution.

How does the wireless charging road technology work as demonstrated by Electreon?

Electreon's technology involves embedding copper coils in the road that are connected to the electrical grid. When an electric vehicle with copper plates passes over them, the interaction between the electromagnetic fields generates power to charge the vehicle.

What is the broader potential impact of smart roads on the future of transportation?

Smart roads could transform transportation by reducing or eliminating the need for gasoline-powered cars and gas stations, decreasing the frequency of road repairs, and potentially saving lives through increased safety measures.

What is the current status of the smart road technologies mentioned in the script?

As of the script's recording, Integrated Roadways is piloting Smart Pavement in Denver and testing a 1km stretch on Highway 285 in Colorado. V2X technology is also being tested in Colorado with the first stretch expected to be completed in 2021. Self-healing asphalt has been used in the Netherlands, and electrified road technology has debuted in Sweden with further tests in other countries.