Smart road

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An intelligent road or smart street , smart highway or smart road is a road that has electrical engineering options that go beyond simply driving on it. In addition to technological advantages, environmental protection and the use of renewable energies are an important part of the technology. It is part of the intelligent transport systems .

Aspects

Induction line and inductive charging

Prototype of an inductive charging system for cars

An induction road or E-Highway is a technical concept in which electric vehicles are charged by electromagnetic induction strips on the road ( wireless energy transmission ). This should allow electric cars and other vehicles to be charged while driving and thus cover longer distances. In addition to streets, the concept is also used in buildings and facilities such as parking garages .

functionality

There is a coil in the underbody of the vehicle, and there is a coil on the surface of the road. If the vehicle now drives over the coil, the electrical energy is transmitted without contact via a magnetic field ( induction voltage ), thereby charging the car battery . However, the contacts should not be too far away. If the sensor detects disruptive factors, the process is aborted.

history

Electromagnetic induction was discovered by Michael Faraday in 1831 while attempting to reverse the function of an electromagnet (“current creates magnetic field”) (“magnetic field creates current”) and was further researched and applied by Nikola Tesla .

The Magne Charge charging system, standardized in the American standard SAE J1773, used this technology in the 1990s, even if the primary coil had to be pushed into a charging slot on the car as a kind of plug. The two coils were optimally positioned when they were pushed in and the induction losses were minimized due to the small distance. Vehicles with this charging standard include the first generation electric cars General Motors EV1 (1996), Chevrolet S-10 EV (1997) and Toyota RAV4 EV (1997). Charging with 6.6 kW is the most common (level 2). There were demonstrators for level 3 with up to 50 kW.

Automatic loading has already been used in rail transport and trams . At the beginning of the 21st century, wireless transmission systems for warehouse and railroad systems were also introduced. However, the speed here is significantly lower than with cars. In public road traffic in the Italian cities of Genoa and Turin, experience has been gained with systems for buses that can inductively recharge their batteries at bus stops. Battery buses are also being tested with this charging system in Germany , for example in Braunschweig and Berlin. In Berlin, charging capacities of up to 200 kW are achieved. The German car manufacturers are also working on inductive charging options in order to be able to offer charging without a plug. In the industrial sector, inductive energy transmission, for example for driverless transport vehicles while driving, has been commercially available for many years. In 2015, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft carried out tests at speeds of up to 30 km / h.

In 2017 Renault developed the first model with Qualcomm and Vedecom with up to 20 kW at 100 km / h, which is almost the same as a charging station. In 2018, the first models from, among others, BMW and Audi that support this technology are expected to hit the market.

Advantages and disadvantages

Opponents of electric vehicles and indecisive customers often argue that there are not enough options to charge their vehicle while driving, thus limiting the range. By building such roads, the range could be increased considerably and manual charging would hardly be necessary. That in turn would keep the costs of electric mobility within limits. This is why many car manufacturers and suppliers believe that the use of electric mobility can help achieve a breakthrough. That is why many research institutes, technology companies and start-ups advocate this technology.

Charging bit by bit should also be better for the battery. In addition, the battery can be charged while waiting and getting out (e.g. in a special parking lot). However, the acquisition proves to be expensive and renovation work has to be undertaken. In addition, charging stations would become superfluous.

Solar road and power generation

Solar Roadway prototype

One way to generate electricity is to build solar roads . Excess energy can also be distributed to the power grid. The road would also be used to generate energy and, in contrast to huge photovoltaic systems, hardly take up any new space. The solar cells are protected by a special glass layer.

One problem is that solar modules do not offer sufficient energy like other technologies and the acquisition costs are relatively high. In Germany and other countries, solar radiation is not so attractive. According to Donald Müller-Judex, the road network in Germany would be enough to supply 20 million electric cars without the autobahn.

Another possibility is the use of the above-mentioned asphalt to generate energy. By cooling the road with a coolant, electricity is generated and the road is cooled at the same time.

history

At the end of 2014, the Solar Roadways project was started on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform , which raised more than 2 billion US dollars. So far, however, the project has only been limited to a small section for pedestrians in the US state of Idaho . In the same year, the first solar cycle path was opened in the Netherlands .

In 2016, the world's first drivable solar road was built in Normandy , France . It is one kilometer long and is located in the village of Touruvre-au-Perche and consists of 2800 square meters of solar panels. In July 2019, Le Monde rated it as an energetic and economic failure.

At the end of 2017, the 2-kilometer solar test section of the Jinan City Ring Expressway was completed, making it the longest solar route to date. A 160 meter long test track was completed in China in September.

In November 2018, the first German solar cycle path was opened in Erftstadt . The 90 m long test track was largely financed by the National Climate Protection Initiative . In March of the following year, however, the electrical connections between the individual modules proved to be no match for the operating conditions, in particular not the moisture that inevitably collects on the ground. Together with the weak energy yield and other problems, this led to the de facto abandonment of the project in autumn 2019.

Lighting and sensors

LED lamps can be reprogrammed more easily. By pressure sensors , certain effects were on the road (such as wild roaming animals or other obstacles) recognize. Furthermore, speed, weight, traffic density, vehicle distances, the direction of a vehicle and other parameters of the vehicles and the traffic could be determined and road changes could be determined by sensors. This data can be used, for example, to shift traffic jams or to detect accidents. Another application is motion sensors that recognize when the street lighting has to be switched off and thus save excess energy consumption.

Heating

Heated sidewalk in winter in Holland, Michigan / USA

A heated road can reduce the risk of accidents due to snow and slipperiness in winter. Compared to road salt , the environment is less damaged. Ice and snow do not even stay at a temperature of 0 degrees.

Underground channels

Underground channels in the street can be used for power lines or internet lines, as well as diverting and filtering meltwater and rainwater .

Autonomous driving and assistance systems

Roads should receive and send signals with which self-driving vehicles and driver assistance systems can orient themselves and thus better organize the flow of traffic ( Internet of Things ). For example, the vehicles could adapt better to speed limits and traffic lights.

Smart building materials

Roads are often exposed to heavy loads from cars. Freight traffic has tripled in the last 30 years, which leads to cracks and other signs of wear and tear on the road. In addition, climate change is causing more extreme temperatures and thus more exposure to cold and heat.

Improved road surface (" intelligent building materials ") should therefore better cope with these influences. Modern asphalt should, among other things, swallow noise, ensure better visibility through lighter colors and filter exhaust gases from the air. This should be ensured, for example, by the pollutant- cleaning surface finish " Photoment ".

Current research deals with possibilities for self-repair and maintenance of roads, for example by filling the smallest cavities with reserve capsules that react to severe impacts or water. This contains bacteria that have to feed and convert materials that help the concrete to stick to cracks.

Pollutant filter

Noise barriers don't just have to reduce noise.

Noise barriers can be used to neutralize pollutants such as titanium oxide . The irradiation of the sun provides a catalyst for nitrogen oxides . A wall three meters high and one kilometer long could neutralize the pollutants from almost 150,000 diesel cars per year.

Intelligent traffic light

Intelligent traffic lights have an intelligent traffic light circuit that collects traffic data such as the number and speed of cars at certain times of the day and automatically calculates and switches green phases with the help of artificial intelligence . They thus represent an extension of the green wave .

Stop-and-go traffic is to be avoided through intelligent traffic lights , which leads to higher CO2 emissions and pollution and thus also fuel consumption. In addition, the traffic should be smoother and more coordinated. Information about the road condition and traffic jams could be recorded more easily and z. B. be communicated via app .

Intelligent traffic lights are being tested in Germany in Hagen , Wuppertal , Stuttgart and Aachen, among others . In Austria intelligent traffic light systems are e.g. B. tested in Vienna . In the long term, intelligent traffic lights should replace push-button traffic lights . In Switzerland, the system was tested in Zurich in 2007 .

Legal situation

The use of intelligent traffic systems in road traffic is legally regulated in Germany in the Intelligent Traffic Systems Act (IVSG). It also contains rules on data protection and permissions.

literature

  • Wilhelm Leutzbach: The intelligent road: Possibilities and limits, German Transport Science Society , 1993
  • Willi Kaczorowski: The Smart City - Intelligently Shaping Digital Change: Fields of Action Challenges Strategies, Richard Boorberg Verlag, 2014, ISBN 9783415052185
  • Barbara Flügge: Smart Mobility: Trends, Concepts, Best Practices for Intelligent Mobility, Springer-Verlag, 2016, ISBN 9783658143718
  • Feng Chen: The Future of Smart Road Infrastructure: A Case Study for the ERoad, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2015

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Transport: The streets of the future . ( Spektrum.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  2. ^ A b Wolfgang Gomoll: Refueling while driving past . In: sueddeutsche.de . November 7, 2013, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Sebastian Schaal: Electric car: Induction as a solution? Retrieved November 27, 2018 .
  4. ^ A b Wolfgang Gomoll: Refueling while driving past . In: sueddeutsche.de . November 7, 2013, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  5. ↑ Simply charge the battery while driving . In: www.t-online.de . ( t-online.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  6. ↑ a b Inductive charging: electric cars with unlimited range . In: Mobility Mag . October 27, 2017 ( mobilitymag.de [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  7. ↑ a b heise online: The road of the future heals itself and supplies electricity. Accessed November 27, 2018 (German).
  8. ↑ a b Clixoom Science & Fiction: A street made of solar cells - The energy supply of the future. December 23, 2014, accessed November 27, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Michaela Haas: The way into the future . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin . November 5, 2018 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  10. ↑ BASt tests self-healing and electricity-generating roads - This is how the future of our roads is created . In: MOTOR-TALK.de . ( motor-talk.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  11. ↑ China is building the longest solar road in the world: You should know that! In: Future Trends . ( trendsderzukunft.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  12. ^ Solar Roadways . ( solarroadways.com [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  13. ↑ Roads as a solar system: an idea with a future and criticism | Energy consumer portal. Retrieved November 27, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Solar-Radweg generates 3000 kilowatt hours of electricity in 6 months . In: Future Trends . ( trendsderzukunft.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  15. ↑ The world's first solar road is in France . In: WIRED . ( wired.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  16. ↑ First solar road in the world inaugurated in France . ( futurezone.at [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  17. ↑ France's first solar road in the acid test - derStandard.de. Retrieved November 27, 2018 .
  18. ↑ En Normandie, le fiasco de la plus grande route solaire du monde , Le Monde, 23 July 2019, accessed on 28 October 2019.
  19. ↑ Wireless charging of e-cars: Chinese inaugurate first solar road . ( winfuture.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  20. ↑ Infrastructure: China puts solar road into operation - Golem.de . ( golem.de [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  21. ↑ Solmove solar road - the cycle path to more energy - ingenieur.de . In: ingenieur.de - job exchange and news portal for engineers . November 22, 2018 ( ingenieur.de [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  22. ↑ Sandra Enkhardt: Why Germany's first solar cycle path mainly only moves lawyers . In: pv magazine . November 19, 2019 ( pv-magazine.de [accessed January 17, 2020]).
  23. ↑ Smart Roads of Colorado | Autonomous driving & Co. Accessed November 27, 2018 (German).
  24. ↑ Integrated Roadways: Intelligent roads recognize accidents and traffic jams . In: MobileGeeks Germany . June 24, 2018 ( mobilegeeks.de [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  25. ↑ a b c d Not just for driving: the roads of the future can do a lot more! In: Future Trends . ( trendsderzukunft.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  26. ↑ Autonomous driving: How cars learn to think . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  27. ↑ Harald Ries: Researchers develop intelligent roads for smart cars . ( wp.de [accessed November 27, 2018]).
  28. ↑ a b mdr.de: The road of the future | MDR.DE . ( mdr.de [accessed on November 27, 2018]).
  29. ↑ WDR: Intelligent traffic light switching should make traffic in Hagen and Wuppertal smoother. August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019 .
  30. ↑ Wuppertal relies on clever traffic lights for clean air. Retrieved August 20, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Peter Ilg: Intelligent traffic lights: No more green waves . In: The time . July 9, 2018, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed August 20, 2019]).
  32. ↑ futurezone / BB: Intelligent traffic lights: When the little traffic light man knows that you want to cross the street. Retrieved August 20, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Aachener Nachrichten: Aachen: Intelligent traffic light technology for faster local traffic. Retrieved August 20, 2019 .
  34. ↑ Dörte Saße: Innovation: Intelligent traffic lights revolutionize traffic . November 22, 2007 ( welt.de [accessed August 20, 2019]).
  35. ^ Text of the Intelligent Transport Systems Act