USING NATIONAL HIGHWAYS TO

POWER THE NATION AND

TRANSFORM GROUND TRAVEL

PROPOSAL FOR UPGRADING EXISTING NATIONAL HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

THE NATION INTO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE OF TRAVEL AND POWER GENERATION

TO TRANSITION

There are many technological innovations underway that will revolutionize the way we live on this planet. In terms
of ground travel and power generation, many developing technologies can be interconnected to form an
ecosystem. This ecosystem will allow for a balanced relationship between humans and nature to ensure
environmental sustainability and the progression of humanity. At the heart of this ecosystem are the roads and
the cars that drive on the roads. This proposal attempts to package technological innovations into an ecosystem
and provides thought provoking questions for the betterment of the Nation.

T HE R OADS

OF THE

T E C HN O LO GI ES

F UTURE

The roads of the future are at the center of the ecosystem. Innovators are looking at roads with an out of the box
approach to come up with solutions to many common problems.

The development of intelligent, power generating roads is already underway by organizations such as Solar
Roadways (http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml). This company is developing a roadway that not only
generates power from solar energy, but also provides additional features to assist with traffic and weather
management.

Power generation from solar power is clean and sustainable. With over 160,955 miles of national highways there is
great
potential
for
generating
enough
power
to
supply
the
entire
US
Nation
Although
photovoltaic
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Highway_System_%28United_States%29).
technology is still not as efficient as it may be in the future, the sheer amount of coverage will ensure adequate
power generation to meet demand.

USING NATIONAL HIGHWAYS TO POWER THE NATION

AND TRANSFORM G ROUND TRAVEL

Another technology with which power can be generated is in the form of Piezoelectricity
(https://www.americanpiezo.com/knowledge-center/piezo-theory/piezoelectricity.html). The idea behind the
technology was originally uncovered in the 1800s, but with recent advances in technology it has become cost
effective to produce them on a large scale. This technology allows for the generation of electricity by the contact
the tires have on the road as a vehicle moves across the generator which has been embedded in the road. If this
technology can be integrated into roads with other forms of renewable energy generation such as solar, and
placed in high traffic areas, there is potential for even more generation of power. This technology would not rely
on solar energy and as such, it can be utilized on days without much sun as well as at night.

F E AT U R ES

In addition to the generation of power, there are many other features that the roads support, such as assistance
with traffic and weather management. These roads are designed to allow national highway traffic controllers to
change lighting and signage on the roads to allow management of traffic by the detection and communication of
potential obstacles, such as wildlife or a vehicle accident. If traffic requires the reduction of travel lanes from two
to one, or vice versa, the roads themselves can be lite up accordingly to communicate the change in a matter of
minutes. Another feature that would be beneficial in areas of the country where snow and ice are present in the
winter is the ability to heat the road. This feature would eliminate the need for salt trucks and snow removal
services on the road where the solar panel road solution is applied. Additionally, the road way can be cleared of
snow and ice as soon as the need arises, without the need to schedule a clean-up crew.

A feature that would seem to come from the future, where by taking influences from video games such as
WipeOut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wipeout_%28video_game%29) and wireless charging technology offered

bladexngt@yahoo.com
June 2014

USING NATIONAL HIGHWAYS TO POWER THE NATION

AND TRANSFORM G ROUND TRAVEL
by many organizations, such as Dephi (http://delphi.com/manufacturers/auto/connection-systems/dataconnectivity-systems/wireless-charging-consumer-devices/) and Ossia (http://www.ossiainc.com/), has the
potential to revolutionize how vehicles are charged. More about this topic is covered in the features section for
Vehicles.

C O N SI D E RA T I O N S

Some of the considerations that should be placed prior to implementation on a large scale include ease of
installation, upgradeability, replace-ability, durability, quality of existing highway infrastructure (on which Solar/
Piezoelectric Roads [S/P Roads] would be placed) and security around power collection stations among others. The
panels would be paved on existing highway infrastructure, and to that point, the existing roads must be tested and
perhaps upgraded to ensure durability over time as they will serve as the foundation of the S/P Roads. The
technology to enable wide spread adoption should allow for ease of installation, perhaps pave on, in the same
manner as how roads are currently paved. As solar panels become more efficient there must be a way to easily
allow panels to be replaced (perhaps due to repair needs, or the need for extra power). The S/P Road must be
tested for durability to traffic, weather and time as the investment would be tremendous. Security around power
collection sites would need to be considered as these roads would be the primary source of energy for the nation.

A standard communications module needs to be installed on the S/P Roads to enable each part of the road to
report on various factors to allow for the features outlined about to function. These communications modules
would need to bi-directionally communicate with each other, the main network as well as with vehicles. In order
for this to function, policies will need to be created to ensure safety and interconnectivity.

A council will need to be established to ensure a standard is established for the design and management of the S/P
Roadway technology. In the same way standards currently exist for the railroad track gauge, a standard must be
established for the S/P Roadway technology. This standard will have many more considerations than rail gauge
standard as it must include abundant variables, of which, one would be the ability for expansion. As technology
improves and new methods for capturing energy are developed (for example, generating energy utilizing the heat
generated by solar energy) the standard should accept the new technological unit as plug and play. This should
function similar to how Universal Serial Bus (USB) (http://www.usb.org/home) ports function on electronic
devices. Standardization will not only reduce the cost of development and maintenance, but also allow for faster
implementation and adoption of newer technologies.

bladexngt@yahoo.com
June 2014

USING NATIONAL HIGHWAYS TO POWER THE NATION

AND TRANSFORM G ROUND TRAVEL

T HE V EHICLES

OF THE

F UTURE

Google, BMW, Audi and many others are already working hard to get autonomous vehicles on the road. These
vehicles will drive themselves, communicate with each other and observe the road to share information in order to
ensure passengers arrive timely and safely at their destination. Building upon this technology with the benefits
offered by the S/P Roads will enable the ecosystem to flourish. This proposal will not delve into autonomous
vehicles, but there are many technologies that have been implemented within autonomous vehicles that can be
leveraged to accomplish the ecosystem explained in this proposal.

H E AD S

UP

D I S P LA Y

Heads up Displays are very popular in futuristic media, but they are very much a reality, even in their limit scope at
this time. There are many organizations already experimenting with Heads up Display, for example Hudway
(http://www.hudwayapp.com/) and General Motors (http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2010-03/gm-wantsturn-car-windshields-navigation-displays). This functionality is based on information from the Vehicle itself, but if
the vehicle is able to communicate with the road and other vehicles, the possibilities are endless.
If the Heads up Display was fitted with information from the road, such as obstruction on the road, construction
areas, traffic, available parking spots then the windshield itself could add an augmented reality layer of the
information before it even approaches. If the vehicle is communicating with other vehicles, the heads up display
can provide information on travel times, detours, speed and distance between the vehicles in proximity for safety
reasons. See Fox News article about the Federal Government considering the requirement for vehicle to vehicle
communication
here
(http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/02/03/feds-plan-to-require-car-to-carcommunications-to-reduce-crashes/) as it points to the benefits of vehicle to vehicle communications.

Another major benefit of a Heads up Display is the ability to turn the windshield into a display of the navigation
route in a GPS type map. Virtual Cable (http://mvs.net/) has already been developed and tested, but there are
many other organizations working on alternative design approaches for Heads up Display of navigation
information.

R E C H AR GI N G

ON THE

GO

As hinted previously, the ability for an electric vehicle to charge while on route to destination maybe possible. The
S/P Roads will be generating power from solar and Piezoelectricity for the nation, but what if they could charge the
vehicle as it is driving from Point A to Point B?
Leveraging magnetic wireless charging, or an alternate form of wireless recharging technology, sections of the road
can be fitted to allow the vehicle to request a charge. In order to accomplish this, standards must be created to
develop all new electric cars with the feature set that will enable charging on the go. Additionally, within the
vehicle a method of coupling the vehicle to a driver and the drivers account would need to be created. The
individual would need to login to the vehicle as the driver so when the cost of the charge is incurred it is charged
directly to the drivers National Electric Vehicle Charge account. This account would be managed by the Federal
Government as the infrastructure would be deployed on the national highway system. The option to configure a
charge point within the vehicle would assist in the driver managing costs of travel. If the driver has configured the
vehicle to request a charge when there is 50% power left in the vehicle then upon approaching a charge point on
the S/P Road, the vehicle will request a charge and the S/P Road will verify that the driver and vehicle are
registered on the National Electric Vehicle Charge system prior to providing the charge and billing the account.
4

bladexngt@yahoo.com
June 2014

USING NATIONAL HIGHWAYS TO POWER THE NATION

AND TRANSFORM G ROUND TRAVEL

Driver set recharge level = 60%

50%

Charge
Remaining

Yes, I am at configured
power level
Would you like
to charge?

Charging
Started

Account is in
good standing

In order for this to function, considerable testing of charging large batteries would need to be performed to
determine how much time would be necessary to charge batteries. A vehicle will not park to charge-up on the
national highway, as such testing needs to be done to ensue batteries can be charged as the vehicle moves from
one charging pad to the next. Safety is a concern as well, and as such, the design of the vehicle and the activation
of the charging will need to be thoroughly tested. Again, standards will need to be set to ensure all vehicles comply
with minimal safety and design requirements.

bladexngt@yahoo.com
June 2014

USING NATIONAL HIGHWAYS TO POWER THE NATION

AND TRANSFORM G ROUND TRAVEL

T HE A PPROACH

The ideas communicated in this proposal are very ambitious and ones that not only require extreme coordination
between public and private organizations but necessitate public-private partnerships. Additionally, many of the
concepts within the ecology rely on technological improvements in order to succeed. The scale to which
technological improvements are required varies from minimal to extremely high, but all concepts are based on
technologies in existence.
A phased approach will be necessary to realize the benefits of this ecosystem. The reliance on technological
improvements to enable to realization of the ecosystem is high, but improvements can be made in parallel and
implemented in a phased approach.
Initially, an organization dedicated to the management of the ecosystem needs to be established to further define
the concepts communicated in this proposal. This organization would be responsible for ensuring standards and
policies are established in order to serve as the foundation for private and public sector organizations to build. This
organization would be similar to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(http://www.ieee.org/index.html), or the High Definition Media Interface (http://www.hdmi.org/) organization
and would require the participation of private and public sector stakeholders. Oversight and management should
be under the authority of a public sector organization such as the US Department of Transportation with
participation from other public sector organizations such as Department of Energy. It is important to note that
many technological innovations are being developed by individual organizations, but viewing them from a siloed
approach inhibits the creation of larger innovative solutions that can only be derived from sharing of information,
ideas, risks and rewards.
The S/P Road design must be designed in concurrence with the S/P Road ready Electric Vehicle design. Once the
designs have been finalized, the S/P Road infrastructure must be built in concurrence with the Electric Vehicles,
although the road infrastructure may take longer to implement and may be started at an earlier time. It is
important to note that even without an S/P Road ready Electric Vehicle the S/P Roads will provide benefits to the
nation in the form of solar power and Piezoelectricity generation. Non S/P Roads ready vehicles will benefit with
many of the feature of the road that provide traffic and weather management benefits without the need for a
Heads up Display.

bladexngt@yahoo.com
June 2014

USING NATIONAL HIGHWAYS TO POWER THE NATION

AND TRANSFORM G ROUND TRAVEL

S/P Roads Ecosystem

Public Sector Stakeholders

Private Sector Stakeholders

Public Sector Management

S/P Roads Standards and

Policies

S/P Road ready Electric

Vehicle Standards and
Policies

It is possible to power an entire nation, remove foreign energy dependence, become green and provide more
convenience to drivers though the S/P Roads Ecosystem.

bladexngt@yahoo.com
June 2014