As the Internet of Things continues to expand, cities are becoming smarter than ever. In fact, intelligent towns are slowly transforming into an essential part of the construction industry. Which only implies that as the everything becomes more and more modern, the crusade toward a technologically-dependent future is slowly becoming a reality.
Smart cities don’t just have an impact on those living with them, but believe it or not, it also affects everyone else. One notable feature of smart cities is the fact that it’s more efficient, sustainable, and more comfortable to live in.
With intelligent towns, mobile apps are utilized to provide fast and efficient access to traffic information, circulation of pedestrian’s, road conditioning, traffic barriers, such as water filled barricades present in the area, and many more.
Here are the best construction technologies to build smart city streets.
Sensors and Smart Concrete
In the construction world, concrete structures make the most significant portion of physical structure around the globe, and it continues to be the preferred material for both structural and civil engineers. Despite that concrete experiences aging and decline after a time, no one can deny the fact that it’s the most efficient and long-lasting building materials available.
As technology keeps on evolving, so as the development of smart cities, engineers are looking for ways on how to accurately keep an eye on the structural state of concrete during the curing period. This leads to a longer lifespan of concrete infrastructure.
Smart concrete is being made with semi-conductive and conductive fillers. This can be steel slag, carbon fibers, nanophase materials, carbon black, and many more. It’s known for providing higher strength and strain resistance, unlike the traditional concrete. Furthermore, due to its nature, the use of smart concrete is perfect for traffic evaluation, stress/strain or force/deformation monitoring, and many more.
As more and more companies are starting to adapt to smart concrete technology, it has become easier to access the information needed, right when it’s necessary.
Solar Energy Roads
Vehicles could now be driven even on specially-toughened and durable solar panels. The purpose of this? It’s considered as an alternative source of energy, which is also good for the environment.
Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging
With the use of “inductive power transfer,” which is basically the same method used in electric toothbrushes, it has become possible to have vehicles charged wirelessly while they travel. This removes the need to refuel every now and then.
Circular Business Models
Most would consider this as something that’s more of a philosophy than technology. The truth is, circular business models– known as the entire life cycle of a project, focus on offers techniques that would carefully track resources and make it possible to reuse everything virtually.
Intelligent Highways
Recently, developers are trying to come up with the new solution regarding highway efficiency. There are now roadside “listening stations” that link up with the GPS receivers in cars to assess traffic patterns, as well as accidents. This information is passed back to the car, helping drivers avoid congested areas and of course, accidents.
Final Words
We can’t deny that these new technological innovations would definitely lessen the number of accidents happening on the road. Hopefully, more and more people would begin to embrace this change.
