During my visit to the Cooper Hewitt Museum, I was exposed to the diverse and sustainable methods of transportation and road technology that has been underway and coming in the future.
The most interesting and significant idea that I saw was of solar panel roads.
This is the Solar Roadway Panels designed by Solar Roadways. It was designed in 2018 but the company has been in talks of this product since 2006. Its medium is glass, circuit boards, solar cells, cables. This product aims to transform roadways and streets into energy generating infrastructure. Lights allow lane changes and road layouts to change without the need of painting or repainting. The lights also allow messages to be sent to drivers about their surroundings.
Secondly, I was fascinated by this Adaptive Parking Garage. It was designed by Joel Spearman, Jordan Kessler, Gensler, Emily Columbus, Benjamin Garcia, Molli Worb, Jaechang Ko and Eva Xu. It is dated 2016. This space, foremost being a garage can now be used and re purposed for many other activities and uses. This model is created from acrylic, foam, 3D-printed plastic, wood. The space can be altered to be used for retail, work space, and even housing.
This third product was one which I did not quite understand the need for. The Ultrahaptics Sensory Interface was created by Ultrahaptics Ltd.. It is dated 2018. Its medium is die-cast aluminum, stainless steel. The purpose of this device is to allow easier access to communication with drivers of public transportation. They argue that cords are not easily accessible for passengers and can cause harm and distraction. From testing it myself, I encountered that I had a very hard following through with its directions. It took my partner and I several attempts and tries to get the product to work and give us affirmation that it was working. It took several minutes and with the gestures we were making with our hands, it is far more distracting than pulling any cord could be. I do not see a need for this product.
Overall, I was very happy and satisfied with my visit to this museum and exhibition. I was not aware of all of the advances and projects that were taking place at the moment for the future of road technology and most of the ones I encountered were incredible and exciting.
