China to Open “Smart Highway” by 2022

//China to Open “Smart Highway” by 2022

China to Open “Smart Highway” by 2022

China has announced the construction of its first “smart highway”, in time for the 2022 Asia Games in Hangzhou. Both Hangzhou and Ningbo will be linked together by it.

The highway will feature six lanes in each direction, and will span a total of 161km through Zhejiang while using navigational technology to increase the traffic speed to 120km/h.

The highway will also feature an underground charging system which will “electrify the road, and charge electric vehicles through a photovoltaic surface.

Equipment installed along the road will connect to a cloud computing system and will monitor all of the cars in real time. Another feature is the integration with driver-less vehicles’ navigation to allow such cars to travel at a flow of 120km/h.

Even though the maximum speed limit for China’s current highways is 120km/h, this technology aims to provide a consistent average speed of driving.

Research done by Yangtze Daily has shown that the average speed on the current expressway in Zhejiang is only 90km/h, and therefore the new technology aims to increase by 20-30%.

For gas powered cars, the highway aims to reduce emissions by allowing for a smooth flow of traffic, and the reduction or prevention of traffic jams. This in-turn promotes a higher level of driver safety.

Even though such features may seem “futuristic” or “impossible”, China already has a highway in Shandong which will be capable of charging compatible electric cars that drive on it.

2018-07-25T17:49:57+00:00