A developer in the Netherlands recently debuted the first smart highway in the world with glowing street paint aimed at reducing energy costs and increasing road visibility.
The stretch of highway used in the initial trial runs 500 meters and is located near Amsterdam.
This smart highway project was designed and developed by Studio Roosegaarde and Heijmans Infrastructure, aiming to solve the problem of low visibility due to a lack of street lights on certain highways and roads.
A chemical substance coats the paint used for the new road markings, which lights up at night and stores energy from the sun during the day.
If the project proves to be reduce costs and increase road safety, other regions may adopt similar technology. The UK Highways Agency is already watching the tests with close interests. One of their major concerns are shorter day light hours during the winter and the paint wearing out over time.
In addition to reacting to darkness, the company behind the project is also working on ground markings that react to temperature, such as glowing snowflakes that light up when the roads get particularly slippery.
