http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlTA3rnpgzU
Hexagonal paving squares...
Sometimes big ideas come from unexpected places. A proposal to power the entire United States with solar energy, without wires or solar farms, by using solar cells to pave roads and parking lots, is certainly a big idea.
In the latest prototype, a tempered glass shell allows light to hit solar panels inside a hexagonal tire-sized panel. But, withstanding up to 250,000 pounds, the glass protects the panels and, beneath them, a circuit board. Multicolored LED lights allow transportation authorities to display various traffic lines or text.
The glass is textured with additional hexagonal bumps that provide more traction than asphalt. They also help the solar pavers perform their core functions.
“Those little hexagons have six sides and they’re angled at a 45-degree angle, so it becomes a prism. No matter where the sun is in the sky, it bends that light down on the solar cells. And our LEDs are underneath those hexagons, so the LED lights emanate out six different directions so you can’t miss them,”....The LED lights would make re-painting a thing of the past. And because the tiles are warm, they stay clear of snow and ice....
The circuit boards offer the biggest benefits: The pavers can communicate directly with road crews and, potentially, drivers. The tiles check in with transportation officials as part of their normal operations, so if one stops responding road crews can be notified immediately and provided with the exact location of the trouble spot. The tiles are also equipped to communicate with vehicles...
