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Smart Highway

To be honest, I had never even heard of the term “Smart Highway”. It is not a term you would use for our highways and I tend to avoid the highway at all cost. Accidents, traffic jams, big trucks…it can be a nightmare!

So, What is it?

According to Wikipedia the ‘Smart highway’ and Smart road are terms for a number of different proposals to incorporate technologies into roads for generating solar energy, for improving the operation of autonomous cars, for lighting and for monitoring the condition of the road.

We always need to make sure our cars are roadworthy, but our roads are not always car-worthy. Most of us have had our soul leaving our body and apologising profusely to our beloved cars when hitting a pothole that you could probably swim in.

So now how can ‘Smart Highways’ or ‘Smart Roads’ help us?

Roads that may be able to think, feel and predict the needs of people and the vehicles that travel on them? Roads that have an environmental conscience and can help improve our safety?
Roads that could maybe actually make a difference to the world?
Apparently they are very much in the pipeline.

Solar Roadways:
The main purpose of solar roadways is to replace asphalt roads with Solar Panels which generate energy through the sun that can be used by local houses or businesses that are connected to the system from either the house’s driveway or the business’s parking lot.

Road Markings:
Photo-luminescent paint for road markings, which was developed by Studio Roosegaarde and Heijmans in the Netherlands, absorb light during the day and can glow for up to 10 hours.

Solar Road Panels:

There are 3 layers that make up the solar panels:
1. The Road Surface Layer – The Road Layer is the High Strength layer that has the photovoltaic cells which attracts the sun’s rays, has traction so vehicles won’t slide off the road, and it is waterproof to protect the layers below.

2. The Electronic Layer – The Electronic Layers contain a mini microprocessor board that helps control the heating element of the panels. This technology can help melt the snow that lands on the panels so that hazardous road conditions will no longer be an issue in snowy weather. This layer can sense how much weight is on the panels and can control the heating element to melt the snow.

3. The Base Plate Layer – The Base Plate Layer is the layer that collects the energy from the sun and then distributes the power to the homes or businesses connected to the solar roadways. This will also be used to transfer the energy to cars as they drive over the strip to recharge the battery

Smart Pavement:
Photovoltaic pavement is a form of pavement that generates electricity by collecting solar power with photovoltaics. Parking lots, foot paths, driveways, streets and highways are all ideal locations where this material could be used.
Frost protection and melting snow, ice:
Snowmelt systems using electricity or hot water to heat roads and pavements would be installed in various locations. With snow and ice melt systems deployed to obstruct winter weather, this would mean that deaths, accidents, governmental and insurance costs, economic losses, and personal auto expenditures could be reduced.

But the Smart Highway is not just all solar.
The current roads are very expensive to maintain and don’t do much other than allowing above-ground transportation.
A concept that involves replacing common asphalt paving with sophisticated and upgradeable factory-made concrete slabs are currently being developed by Integrated Roadways in the USA that will give the roadways the ability to detect vehicles and know where they are in real time.
Smart roadways would be able to call first responders to the site of an accident by knowing where vehicles are and how fast they were going. It would also be able to collect real-time information on road conditions and congestion data, letting drivers (and self-driving cars) choose the route that is the most efficient and safe.
There are also reports on a technology that will use small turbines to catch the updraft from passing cars and use it as a source of energy, powering street lights by attaching specialised turbines to each. The turbines would be designed to be aesthetically pleasing by looking like small works of art, rather than the future of roadway energy generation.Asphalt and the New Materials Building These Roadways
New materials for roadway construction are also being explored, which will take traditional asphalt, aggregates and glassphalt to new applications. The American Ceramics Society have been discussing an updated “smart concrete” that will embed sensors, wireless connections and similar technology into pre-cast concrete panels. Dowel bars will connect the slabs into an integrated modular system, creating a continuous paved roadway. Access ports in each slab will allow the technology to be serviced without requiring the slab to be destroyed or replaced. Applications of new materials for roadway construction could address many of the problems that the weight and increased traffic face on the current roadways. Cement, sand and aggregate will also be freed up for other building applications.

The smart highway/road will be more ‘animated’ than its conventional ‘inanimate’ predecessor. The road will come with sensors, data capture capabilities, the ability to be responsive to changes in the environment but perhaps most importantly, be connected. Roads will be able to ‘talk’ to cars, bicycles, traffic lights and even cities. We could all benefit from quicker, safer and more effective trips, not to mention get back time that is lost to traffic jams as well as the positive environmental impact that is likely to follow building such a road would bring.

This all sounds so great. Will it ever reach South Africa? We will just have to wait and see.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Inmotion Ventures
Firmatek
EWN

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About Melanie Miles

One girl who would rather wear boots than high heels...

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Solar & kinetic roads

Energy is the basic need for the development of the modern world, however when we think of the future most of us have started to think negatively about the planet and what humankind is doing to our home.
There are still some believers out there who believe that they can make a difference to the world and they are doing everything possible to change it.

Solar Roadways was founded in 2006 by Scott and Julie Brusaw, when they first introduced roads with integrated solar panelsin 2006. They claim that their technology could be a game changer in the attempt to make our planet more sustainable.

They have created the first prototype “solar panel roads” – this will replace all conventional tar roads.

This will not only create jobs in every country it is brought into, but it will also increase road safety with its built-in LED system that can inform drivers of any accidents that may be ahead or any other obstructions in the road.

South Africa can really benefit from something like this with its current energy shortages and problematic power plants. Imagine the roads you are driving on bringing electricity to the country, this would drop the rising electricity prices and provide safe roads for all to travel on.  With the introduction of this into our country there would also be an increase in jobs in this new sector, new skills to be learnt and the solar panels only have to be replaced when faulty.

So what are these “SMART’’ road panels and what makes them so special.  Well, if my research is anything to go by, then these revolutionary little solar panels could promise to pack quite the eco-punch.

The solar roadway is a road; a series of solar panels, structurally engineered to be driven upon.
Solar Roadway panels are made of tempered (safety) glass.
Glass was chosen for its hardness, strength, durability, and transmittance.
Solar Roadway glass is textured to create proper traction for vehicles and pedestrians.
Each unit is made of top and bottom glass panels, with the other components such as solar cells and LED lights enclosed in between.

The objective of the solar roadways is to be able to tap and store as much energy as possible to be used in business & domestic consumption. It is a revolutionary way of finding solutions to the petroleum-based asphalt roads, and the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity
One advantage of this project is that it is will enable the world to cut down on greenhouse emissions by half.
One major difference one will notice when comparing Solar Roadways glass panels to traditional tar roads is aesthetics. The hexagonal panels are quite a work of art and will dramatically beautify roads, highways etc. Unlike tar roads,
Solar Roadway panels are impervious to potholes. The repair of potholes is expense, and an unnecessary inconvenience to motorists, (with the panels) you can merely remove one and fix it (No more potholes to deal with)

In China, one of the world’s first solar highways is taking shape.

In France, a 1 kilometer-long strip of road is made entirely out of solar panels. This trial solar panels is to be tested for 2 years to see how much electricity its can generate.

In the Netherlands the newest bike paths doubles as a solar energy generator that helps power surrounding neighborhoods.

One major drawback of this project is its start-up and maintenance costs
South African governments are not moving fast enough to progress the uptake of solar energy, let alone solar road energy.

Could the solar panel superhighway be the power station of the future?

Sources:
Solar Roadways
Wikipedia
Ecopreneurist
Slate
Nootrix

To view more articles, please visit the Leads 2 Business Blog.
If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit Leads 2 Business.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit the Leads 2 Business Wiki.

About Nirasha Rampersad

I started working for Leads to Business June 2017 as Support Assistance in L2Q.

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Software to help benefit companies in construction

Jeepers! Where to even begin?!

Technology has transformed our lives in unimaginable ways. And for a lot of us, these systems can be a bit daunting.
There are so many different types of software that are able to benefit various types of professionals within the construction industry, that we often don’t know which would be most effective or relevant to our businesses.

So why even consider any of these systems? Since construction work happens manually, and work progresses on site through multiple visits and contracts, some large construction projects sometimes take years to complete. Digitizing a few processes might assist with getting the work done faster and better!

Let’s have a look at the biggest benefits of having a construction management software in place:

Having a system in place that will assist you with analyzing and tracking processes from conceptual to handover which keeps detailed notes of which persons are in charge of which tasks, date of completion, etc., will help keep track of delays and pick up where the faults lie. It also makes it easier to bridge the communication gap between customers, managers and the rest of the team, which in turn increases the proficiency of performance and helps mid-project changes a breeze to keep track of.

Allocating jobs to each professional also becomes an easy task.

Cost Estimation – In today’s day and age, this has to be the most important process to have in place within the construction industry. Due to human error being so real, there is no room for mistakes when it comes to cost estimation. This could make or break winning a tender. Construction software maintains financial data in a secure way, with automated calculations & predictions.

How much easier can it be? This software assists with sending out bills, generating invoices and tracking payments that need to be made and/or received. Pretty cool, right?

Project & Tender Information Platforms – This is where Leads 2 Business comes in! It’s imperative for any construction professional to know what projects are coming up where and when. The planning process is one of the most important steps to building your brand and growing your business.
To have a provider, such as Leads 2 Business, that is able to notify you and keep track of projects and tenders of interest, saves you time, money and effort. Being in the know of who to approach and when will put you that much closer to winning that tender.

These are but a few of the many construction software systems out there that are able to benefit anyone within the industry. What a time to be alive! Gone are the days of sitting in front of the fax machine waiting for a 500 page tender document to be sent (one page at a time, can you even imagine?!)
With construction management software, all project management documents are stored in a safe place and because all documents to each project are stored in a single location, important information is simply one click away! Being able to share these documents with every professional involved also becomes a lot easier, which prevents time wasted hunting through piles and piles of paperwork.

Here are a few links to some of these great software systems:

CCS (Construction Computer Software)
IntelliBuild
Agile
Contract Communicator Systems
EJM Construction Software

With all this amazing technology right at our fingertips, why would we still choose the old fashioned way?

As scary as it may be, the future is exciting! All we have to do is submit to it – work smarter, not harder!

Sources:
Construction Computer Software

Contract Communicator

https://www.jonasconstruction.com/blog/top-10-benefits-construction-management-software/

About Elaine Cockcroft

I started working at Leads 2 Business in January 2016 and form part of the sales team as Account Executive based in Gauteng.

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