Viitorul transportului de persoane poate fi conturat in mai multe feluri, de la avioane stratosferice pana la autostrazi suspendate.
Solar Roadways, o companie din Statele Unite ale Americii are o viziune cu totul diferita despre cum ar trebui sa arate autostrazile viitorului.
Autostrada solara colecteaza energia electrica cu ajutorul unor panouri fotovoltaice intinse pe toata suprafata sa, marcajele care in mod curent sunt realizate cu vopsea vor fi formate din LED-uri alimentate de capacitori performanti. Soselele vor fi capabile sa detecteze animalele salbatice ce ar putea intra pe partea carosabila si vor avertiza prin afisaje directe pe calea de rulare pentru reducerea vitezei. De asemenea vor exista elemente de incalzire pentru a se evita formarea ghetii sau a poleiului pe suprafata acesteia.
Vehiculele electrice se vor putea reincarca pe traseul autostrazii in locuri special amenajate, facilitand in acest mod deplasarea pe distante mari. Sticla poate oferii aceiasi aderenta ca si asfaltul pentru automobile fiind profilata special.
Prefabricarea acestor elemente ar duce la o crestere a vitezei cu care se construiesc drumuri. Singurele probleme ce stau in fata implementarii unor astfel de proiecte ar fi cele legate de costurile imense asociate unor astfel de lucrari complexe. Chiar daca se ia in calcul si cantitatea de energie electrica oferita de un astfel de drum costurile de constructie si intretinerea acestora ar putea da mari batai de cap.
In clipul de mai jos Scott Brusaw ofera mai multe informatii despre soselele solare:
Comunicatul de presa (in limba engleza)
US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AWARDS $100,000
RESEARCH CONTRACT TO SOLAR ROADWAYS
Funds intelligent roads and parking lots
SOLAR ROADWAYS, SAGLE, IDAHO (August 25, 2009)- Solar Roadways today announced that it has been awarded a DOT contract that will enable them to prototype the first ever Solar Road Panel.
The Solar Roadways will collect solar energy to power businesses and homes via structurally-engineered solar panels that are driven upon, to be placed in parking lots and roadways in lieu of petroleum-based asphalt surfaces.
The Solar Road Panels will contain embedded LEDs which „paint” the road lines from beneath to provide safer nighttime driving, as well as to give up to the minute instructions (via the road) to drivers (i.e. „detour ahead”). The road will be able to sense wildlife on the road and can warn drivers to „slow down”. There will also be embedded heating elements in the surface to prevent snow and ice buildup, providing for safer winter driving. This feature packed system will become an intelligent highway that will double as a secure, intelligent, decentralized, self-healing power grid which will enable a gradual weaning from fossil fuels.
Replacing asphalt roads and parking lots with Solar Roadway panels will be a major step toward halting climate change. Fully electric vehicles will be able to recharge along the roadway and in parking lots, finally making electric cars practical for long trips.
It is estimated that is will take roughly five billion (a stimulus package in itself) 12′ by 12′ Solar Road Panels to cover the asphalt surfaces in the U.S. alone, allowing us to produce three times more power than we’ve ever used as a nation – almost enough to power the entire world.