LONDON: A first glow-in-the-dark 'smart highway' spanning 500 metres
has been developed to replace street lights in the Netherlands. 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.
Designer and innovator Daan Roosegaarde teamed up
with Dutch civil engineering firm Heijmans to developed the technology.
The glow-in-the-dark markings are made of paint that contains
"photo-luminising" powder which charges up in the daytime and slowly
releases a green glow at night, 'BBC News' reported.
Once the
paint has absorbed daylight it can glow for up to eight hours in the
dark, doing away with the need for street lights. The innovative
technology will be officially launched later this month and if
successful could trigger a mass switch-off of lighting across the
country's road network, potentially saving the nation millions of Euros.
Heijmans said that the glow in the dark technology is "a
sustainable alternative to places where no conventional lighting is
present".
Roosegaarde's 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. In the UK,
engineers have developed water-resistant, spray-on coating that makes
roads glow in the dark by absorbing UV light during the day and
releasing it at night. The coating can adapt to the lighting conditions
in its surroundings to glow accordingly.
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