I remember reading a blog post last year about the possibility of using glow-in-the-dark trees to replace street lamps. What a ingenious way to save energy!

Well, now that same idea has gained traction into expanding into something much more robust than trees. In the Netherlands, Studio Roosegaarde has created a “Smart Highway.” The concept makes the road lines glow bright in the night and displays snow flakes to warn drivers for ice in cold weather. Wind powered lights turn on only when a car is near and a road lane can charge electric vehicles that are being driven. If this technology starts being used on a global level the benefits of cutting down use of electricity at night would be huge. (Also, driving on a road that looks like it came out of the movie “Tron” sounds exciting!)

We hear news all the time about how cars are becoming more and more technology enhanced and it’s refreshing to hear people talk about enhancing the road those cars drive on. I hope this project does well during its testing phase and is able to expand into other countries.

Smart Highway on CNN – Daan Roosegaarde interviewed from Studio Roosegaarde on Vimeo.

 

Source: WIRED