Stutopia Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 (edited) Saw this interesting story, I did search to see if it was a repost, my bad if it is. Article text below, pics in the link. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27021291 Glow in the dark road markings have been unveiled on a 500m stretch of highway in the Netherlands. The paint contains a "photo-luminising" powder that charges up in the daytime and slowly releases a green glow at night, doing away with the need for streetlights. Interactive artist Daan Roosegaarde teamed up with Dutch civil engineering firm Heijmans to work on the idea. The technology is being tested with an official launch due later this month. It is the first time "glowing lines" technology has been piloted on the road and can be seen on the N329 in Oss, approximately 100km south east of Amsterdam. Once the paint has absorbed daylight it can glow for up to eight hours in the dark. Encourage innovation Speaking to the BBC last year about his plans Mr Roosegaarde said: "The government is shutting down streetlights at night to save money, energy is becoming much more important than we could have imagined 50 years ago. This road is about safety and envisaging a more self-sustainable and more interactive world." The team also hopes to develop giant weather symbols that appear on the road Mr Roosegaarde's projects aim to help people and technology to interact. His past projects have included a dance floor with built-in disco lights powered by dancers' foot movements, and a dress that becomes see-through when the wearer is aroused. "I was completely amazed that we somehow spend billions on the design and R&D of cars but somehow the roads - which actually determine the way our landscape looks - are completely immune to that process," Mr Roosegaarde said. Heijmans was already working on projects involving energy-neutral streetlights when Mr Roosegaarde teamed up with the company. "I thought that was updating an old idea, and I forced them to look at movies of jellyfish. How does a jellyfish give light? It has no solar panel, it has no energy bill. "And then we went back to the drawing board and came up with these paints which charge up in the daytime and give light at night," he said. Heijmans says that the glow in the dark technology is also "a sustainable alternative to places where no conventional lighting is present". Pilot project Innovation on roads needs to be encouraged said Professor Pete Thomas, from Loughborough University's Transport Safety Research Centre but new technologies need to prove themselves. "We have some high visibility markings already on roads in the UK, plus cats-eye technology etc. So the question is how much better than these is this alternative? The Dutch Minister for Infrastructure Melanie Schultz Haegen visited the project "If we put this technology on all unlit roads that would be a lot of kilometres and it would be a big investment so if safety improvement is the target then we need hard evidence about how this compares to what we already have and to back up any safety claims," he said. The UK Highways Agency said it was watching the trial in the Netherlands with interest but said that previous studies had shown that "luminescent road paint would be unsuitable for use in this country". It said it would take several things in to account when deciding whether to include luminescent road markings in its design standards. These would be include how far in advance road markings could be seen, how skid resistant they were, how visible they were during the day and how they would perform in winter when there are fewer hours of daylight. Initially the team also had plans to develop weather symbols that appeared on the road once the temperature reached a certain level. A temperature-sensitive paint mixture would be used to create giant snow flake-shaped symbols on the tarmac to warn users that the road may be icy. The current stretch of glow in the dark road in Oss does not include this temperature sensitive technology. It is a pilot project at this stage and is expected to expand internationally later this year. Dutch media report that Heijmans is keen to use the paint on other roads but has not yet negotiated any contracts. I quite like the idea of a glowing snowflake to tell you the road surface tempreture (rather than the ambient air temp you get in the car). At worst, it'll just make you feel like you're in Tron! Edited April 17, 2014 by SuperStu 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 The UK Highways Agency said it was watching the trial in the Netherlands with interest but said that previous studies had shown that "luminescent road paint would be unsuitable for use in this country". why ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Because the weather is so crap it would never 'charge up' 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Lynx Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Only lasts 8 hours too. Not much good in the winter, especially if they do away with street lights like they mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 What happens when we get snow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 The 8 hour limit is interesting, but then again there plenty of roads with no lighting at all now, so even 8 hours would be an improvement. It'd still take you through to midnight, assuming a winterey 4pm darkness. Cool to see the crazy Dutch guys had a schmoke and came up with this. When was the last time we did something innovative on the road that didn't involve generating stealth taxes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 What happens when we get snow... "Snow is formed when temperatures are low and there is moisture - in the form of tiny ice crystals - in the atmosphere. When these tiny ice crystals collide they stick together in clouds to become snowflakes. If enough ice crystals stick together, they'll become heavy enough to fall to the ground." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 What happens when we get snow... "Snow is formed when temperatures are low and there is moisture - in the form of tiny ice crystals - in the atmosphere. When these tiny ice crystals collide they stick together in clouds to become snowflakes. If enough ice crystals stick together, they'll become heavy enough to fall to the ground." Glad to see Stu you were paying attention in the Science class. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geejay00 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 One word.....TRON 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Sounds like a decent idea for country roads etc, but it can't be allowed to replace street lights. What about seeing cyclists, pedestrians and wildlife? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Sounds like a decent idea for country roads etc, but it can't be allowed to replace street lights. What about seeing cyclists, pedestrians and wildlife? Paint pedestrians and cyclists in the same stuff? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisS Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 The UK Highways Agency said it was watching the trial in the Netherlands with interest but said that previous studies had shown that "luminescent road paint would be unsuitable for use in this country". why ? cost ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Is it a good idea? YES Would it improve driving for all motorists? YES Does it make any money? NO Ah well, guess that's one idea out the window then. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Lynx Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I would prefer they just repaired all the roads rather than paint luminous lines on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Is it a good idea? YES Would it improve driving for all motorists? YES Does it make any money? NO Ah well, guess that's one idea out the window then. I'm so glad you are not a cynic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Hey you know me, glass half full and all that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtB Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 (edited) What's wrong with car headlights, you get to take the light around with you wherever you need it! Edited April 19, 2014 by KurtB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsexr Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Hey you know me, glass half full and all that For an optimist the glass is half full For a pessimist the glass is half empty For an engineer..... The glass is oversized Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Hey you know me, glass half full and all that For an optimist the glass is half full For a pessimist the glass is half empty For an engineer..... The glass is oversized and think of a safety factor and then multiply it by 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu_2424 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I personally like this part: "His past projects have included...and a dress that becomes see-through when the wearer is aroused." I wish to see this dress!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisS Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I would prefer they just repaired all the roads rather than paint luminous lines on them Nice idea, but it's politicians................. so they will probably paint the luminous line around the pot holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Saw this on the news ages ago. It set me to wonder how long would the paint last for? As it gets worn and driven over lots and lots of times...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.