Sunny roads

1995/09/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Garraioak

The new road signage system is already underway in various parts of Germany. Energy saving is the essence of the new system: taking advantage of solar energy.

Although it will soon be extended to all German roads, so far it has only been implemented in large cities. Basically it is based on photovaltaic cells: in the signaling zones devices have been placed that directly convert solar electromagnetic radiation into electric energy. In addition, mechanisms have been established that allow a rational use of energy. Radars that measure vehicle speed, for example, are only activated when the vehicle passes by. The radar then emits the signal and, after measuring the speed of the vehicle, communicates it in large numbers visible from anywhere.

The new signalling system has been worked at the Fraiburg Solar Energy Institute. The next challenge of these researchers is to investigate a new radio system that announces the arrival of buses in the stations. Like the previous one, they announce that this system will be powered by solar energy.