Oh oh oh, I saw this ... where did I see this.. I saw this on imgur I think! Yes!
I talk too much but if you feel like reading it all have at it
I think this has a higher chance of being successful because they've already received some sort of government backing. I think I'm more curious about where they would
manufacture these. China? China is cheap! Especially for things requiring circuit board type things. I understand they want to make manufacturing facilities in each state but oof that's a lot of work. How quickly can that happen?
how they'd arrange current roadway workers, according to the video, it sounds like those guys are going to lose their jobs, and it's a lot of those guys out there. Would they go through some sort of training program and transition into these new "manufacturing facilities" ?
assuming this does take off like wildfire, where they would start building roads like this? (highways, roadways, tollways, inter-city roadways (lol), definitely not surburbia for a time, etc, etc) live a few years in california and you know what construction tastes like. death.
and how they would organize replacing roadways, if it'd become the industry standard (asphalt is cheap!) blah blah blah i know things about roads but prefer trains like a grumpy old man.
Oh here's a fun thing from their FAQ I found...
Quote:Who owns the electricity that your new infrastructure produces?
Short answer: whoever owns the property:
For driveways, patios, sidewalks: the home owner.
For parking lots: the business owner.
For tarmacs: the airport.
Roads get a little trickier: they can be owned privately, by the city, township, county, state, or federal government. The city may own the roads and become the utility company. Or the utility companies may become road builders.
It's hard to tell at this point. Kind of like asking the Wright Brothers in 1903 how a luggage carousel at the Denver International Airport would work.
Quote:Would you have to rip up perfectly good roads and parking lots to install your system?
No, that's a common misunderstanding of our concept. In keeping with our values as a company to be as green, sustainable and environmentally friendly as we can possibly be, we will make every attempt to reuse the current road, parking lot, sidewalk, bike path etc. for the foundation at our installation sites. Various civil/structural engineers have recommended this approach.
For sidewalks and driveways, less substrate is required; more for roads. Some prep will be needed and raceways can be cut in for the cables. This will save prospective customers from the expense of paying for a new foundation. We will need to hire civil engineers to make the determination at each site as to the viability of the existing pavement for providing the foundation for our panels. If it's viable, we will use it. If not, it can be recycled in keeping with our cradle to cradle philosophy.
I feel like they're changing wayyy too many things at once that affects several too many industries at once (electric, internet, water treament, etc). Don't get me wrong, I'd love that.. but .. US companies and government bodies perhaps not so much. Also I'm getting very tired of anything with a processor being called "smart."
MuscleWizard Wrote:HOW SLIPPERY IS THIS pomegranate WHEN IT RAINS/SNOWS
Good question. The top is textured, bumpy, tempered glass, however it still is glass. Unless they put some sort of abrasive in it it may remain slippery to an extent.
MuscleWizard Wrote:asphalt allows for plow drivers to simply push snow without regard, as they scrape across the road surface, how do you plow these roads
what will be used for backup power when it snows?
supposedly these warm themselves up to melt snow, there was a picture on their site i think. of course doesn't answer ALL the questions (power failure, EXTREEM SNOW, etc)
ShinkuDragon Wrote:supposedly these warm themselves up to melt snow, there was a picture on their site i think. of course doesn't answer ALL the questions (power failure, EXTREEM SNOW, etc)
The thing that interested me was the concept of a decentralized power grid. If one cell or even an array of cells go out, From the FAQ it sounds like the other cells can compensate. I'm not an engineer, though. :/
Felicitates Wrote:this is why we see no trains anywhere
I used to think this, then I saw how much over budget the latest attempt at high speed rail has gone in California.
I like this idea a lot because it decentralizes power production and ought to be relatively easy to fund through current infrastructure avenues. I am still skeptical about it's economic viability and durability as a roadway.
VerrKol Wrote:I used to think this, then I saw how much over budget the latest attempt at high speed rail has gone in California.
I like this idea a lot because it decentralizes power production and ought to be relatively easy to fund through current infrastructure avenues. I am still skeptical about it's economic viability and durability as a roadway.
I'd really love to see budget comparisons between Japan high speed rails and how much the cal train was. Just for curiosity's sake. Maybe a restructure is in order! Not so much really, but it'd be fun to compare for sure.
Durability tests passed with flying colors, they have demonstration vids on the indie gogo as well as their website FAQ, but economic viability remains to be seen. I'm fairly skeptical in general because it's a great idea that'll put a lot of people out of business or losing profits. No bueno in americana
