Sustainability Problem: Roadways (city streets, highways, driveways, parking lots, etc.) as we know them today are made of miles of concrete that absorb heat and do not contribute to the grid. Moreover, these roadways are often outdated and not well-maintained, resulting in unsafe and inefficient surfaces for transport and storage of vehicles.
Technology: Solar roadways are intelligent and modular solar panels that can work on any road surface. This technology pays for itself through clean energy generation. The solar roadways are heated to keep roads ice / snow free, pressure sensitivity for safety, and multi-colored with lighting. Every panel has series of LED panels that enables programming of various markings (whether that’s a sports court or a roadway dividing line) and facilitates safety guidance. In the future, the technology will also allow for charging vehicles through mutual induction. Overall, the technology allows increased use of clean energy and re-use of existing non-efficient and outdated infrastructure.
Stakeholders: Consumers, Governments, Federal Highway Administration, Parking
Implementation: (1) Research and development on scalable technology to support this mission, including identifying high potential use cases. (2) Raise funding to begin manufacturing and testing, particularly for hardware. (3) Begin pilot work with Federal Highway Administration on selected road surface types (highway, parking lot, etc.) and collect data on improvement opportunities with the technology. (4) Launch pilot program and evaluate scaling needs.
class june 23, 2016 – uni mst2135
makeasmartcity 