Photo: www.studioroosegaarde.net
Who ever said SciFi blockbusters have nothing in common with the real world, probably never read Jules Verne’s books, to start with. The dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde learnt there is wealth of untapped energy and potential right beneath our wheels, so he created world’s first glowing highway. The first 500 meter stretch of glow-in-the-dark road were recently unveiled and we must say, they’re promising.
The glowing road is part of a bigger project developed by the designer in collaboration with civil engineering firm Heijmans, called “Smart Highway” concept, an award-winning one that seeks to make our roads more interactive, environmentally friendly, and safe, particularly in rural areas that lack street lighting.
The glowing road was officially unveiled a couple of months ago in the province of Noord-Brabant, in the Netherlands. The paint was developed by Roosegaarde’s partners, and absorbs light during the day, only to relieve it into the night.
Engineers ran into an early hiccup soon after the pilot program was made public, as the glow-in-the-dark paint turned out to be sensitive to moisture caused by rainfall, which compromised the light output emitted by the markings. However, Heijmans says it’s only a temporary issue that will be soon resolved and that the new, improved Glowing Lines 2.0 will roll out this summer.
Well, considering electric vehicles look to be the way we’ll drive in the near future and taking into account that engineers are working on turning our roads into solar panels, having them glowing in the dark is only the next natural move people will make.
The glowing road was officially unveiled a couple of months ago in the province of Noord-Brabant, in the Netherlands. The paint was developed by Roosegaarde’s partners, and absorbs light during the day, only to relieve it into the night.
Engineers ran into an early hiccup soon after the pilot program was made public, as the glow-in-the-dark paint turned out to be sensitive to moisture caused by rainfall, which compromised the light output emitted by the markings. However, Heijmans says it’s only a temporary issue that will be soon resolved and that the new, improved Glowing Lines 2.0 will roll out this summer.
Well, considering electric vehicles look to be the way we’ll drive in the near future and taking into account that engineers are working on turning our roads into solar panels, having them glowing in the dark is only the next natural move people will make.
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