we wouldn't need roads if we had flying cars.
flying cars will never work
people is toooo stupid
at least with a solar road, our electric cars that drive themselves can just do whatever they want, forever
Meh. License them like pilots AND drivers. Double whammy. Should filter out the dumbtards.
we can't manage to keep people with multiple DUIs and old people off the road and you think we'd be able to tighten up licensing standards?
I think I read about this a while ago. Why exactly does this have to be a road? Doesn't the need for it to so durable to hold up to cars skyrocket the cost, why not just do a bunch of solar panels in places that actually make sense? Hell you could probably build them over the top of roads (like a tunnel)way easier, or along the sides of roads even way way easier.
The reality of it is ridiculous...oil, dirt, snow/ice buildup that would reduce the effectiveness or completely block light.
I'm sure they've thought of these things and still are moving forward, but it just seems like going through way more trouble than is necessary just because sleek power generating roads seems like a cool idea
The Martin Jetpack is the world’s first practical jetpack. It consists of a purpose-built gasoline engine driving twin ducted fans which produce sufficient thrust to lift the aircraft and a pilot in vertical takeoff and landing, and enable sustained flight.
“We have full certification from the Civil Aviation Authority for manned flight and have made great progress in recent months in increasing the flight time of the aircraft,” - Peter Coker
There is also an unmanned version planned which will lift more than most vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Martin Jetpack can take off from a small space, so is easy to deploy anywhere. It is easy to learn to fly, has an automated hover function, and is expected to be able to be flown in reasonable weather conditions.
It’s true. Martin Jetpack, a New Zealand-based company, has just revealed the latest prototype of its jet pack, which is promised to be available in mid-2014. Though the name suggests otherwise, the P12 Jetpack is actually propelled by ducted fans, powered by premium gas.
Founder Glenn Martin has been working on building a jet pack for the last 30 years, starting in his parents garage. The P12 marks the 12th iteration of his dream, and the closest version yet to commercial availability.
"The Martin Jetpack is the result of inspiration and many years of development work by Glenn Martin and an enthusiastic team of engineers and other experts. It uses sophisticated composites and a highly efficient propulsion system to achieve the goal of personal flight, with many safety features including a ballistic parachute.
Originally designed with the leisure market in mind, the Martin Jetpack has found strong demand from a wide range of markets, including military, civil defence and recreation. It is in the final stages of development for the first commercial customers, mainly Government users such as Search and Rescue and Police."
http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com...6-51ab-11e3-a480-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=storyThe exciting developments follow a productive year in tweaking the Solar Roadways prototype. The model has since been altered from a square 12-by-12-foot panel to a hexagon shape, making the design more feasible for mass production. Meanwhile, university testing for load bearing and impact resistance passed with flying colors, while friction tests indicate the textured glass can stop a truck going 80 mph on slick surfaces within an acceptable distance.
“I kept changing up the texture, and they told us, “You have to back off — you broke our machine!” Brusaw said.
Solar Roadways has so far been funded through a grant from the Federal Highway Administration. With the grant set to expire next year, Brusaw says he’ll be seeking out investors and is also considering a Kickstarter campaign. In the meantime, he’s focusing on installing the prototype parking lot, which is nearing completion. He plans to unveil it for media and news outlets this spring.
The Solar Roadways panel looks deceptively simple, but the engineering is actually quite precise and intricate. The heart of the design is an electronics layer which features embedded solar collector cells, an LED light board for painting traffic lines or messages on the road, a heating element for melting snow and ice and microprocessors to handle commands from a traffic controller. A base plate layer houses all the required wiring and is suitable for networking Internet, cable and phone services. Finally, the top layer is designed to withstand the rigor and wear required from any major highway. For that purpose, Brusaw selected a high-strength textured glass that supplies the necessary friction for vehicle traffic while still allowing sunlight through to the solar cells.
we can't manage to keep people with multiple DUIs and old people off the road and you think we'd be able to tighten up licensing standards?