Components
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To find out more about each component, hover over the corresponding images below.
Film
The film is a clear, plastic sheet that protects the other components. Containing ethylene vinyl acetate plastic and cellulose acetate butyrate plastic, it is flexible, resilient, and strong. It bears the initial weight of vehicles and supports anything less than a kilogram, which would not trigger the weight sensors.
Heating Cables
The heating cables are installed in the road to prevent the buildup of snow and ice. Powered by the solar cells, the heating cables operate at high energy efficiency while maintaining safe driving conditions .
Phase-Mag Fluid
Phase-Mag Fluid (PMF) is the bulk of the road and allows it to reform. The PMF has magnetic iron nanoparticles suspended throughout the fluid. When magnetized by the microcontrollers, the nanoparticles rearrange into a rigid formation, becoming solid. In the absence of weight, the PMF flows back into a level and flat position, erasing any deformations.
The advanced solar cells would power the road by capturing multiple parts of the solar spectrum. Utilizing the photovoltaic effect, the solar cells will be efficient and store enough energy to allow the road to function in low-light conditions.
Solar Cells
The weight sensors are located in the film, powered by solar cells, and detect any pressure on the film. Then, they send a signal to the microcontrollers, prompting them to either turn on or off their magnetic fields.
Weight Sensors
Microcontrollers
The microcontrollers are densely packed in the Phase-Mag Fluid and control when the PMF changes state. When weight sensors in the film detect vehicles passing, they send a signal to the microcontrollers, prompting them to activate their magnetic field. When the signal is absent, the microcontrollers deactivate and turn the PMF liquid. The microcontrollers are charged by wireless chargers in the film.
The wireless chargers embedded in the film are transfer energy from the solar panels and power the microcontrollers by using vibrations to generate an electrical charge in the microcontrollers, known as resonant inductive charging. The charging range is focused conically so that each wireless charger only powers the microcontrollers below it and does not lose energy over distance.
Wireless Chargers
