Development of an Electrophoretic Display Technology for Selectively Retroreflective Signs and Pavement Markers
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper describes an enabling technology that could be used to develop electronic roadway signs and markers whose display content can be changed and that are selectively retroreflective. This would give them the good visibility of retroreflective signs at night, coupled with invisibility under circumstances where they are not meant to be seen, thereby reducing both confusion and light pollution. This paper describes how the half-silvered and blackened glass beads that constitute the visible components of the display were fabricated in the lab and derives their geometric optics, demonstrating their retroreflective capabilities. The paper also describes the construction of a transparent top electrode necessary to establish the electric field for changing the displays and derives some of the electric properties of the electrode and the resulting capacitorlike display. The work is in an early developmental stage, and the paper concludes with an outline of some of the remaining issues that need to be solved before a working device could be constructed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Arens, J., and Reilly, M. (1998). “FHWA’S photometric and visibility lab.” Publ. Roads, 61(4), 16–20.
CIE. (1988). “Visual aspects of road markings.” CIE Joint Technical Rep., Committee Internationale de L’Eclairage, PIARC, Vienna, Austria.
FHWA. (2009). Manual on uniform traffic control devices, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Washington, DC.
FHWA. (2010). “National standards for traffic control devices; the manual on uniform traffic control devices for streets and highways; maintaining minimum retroreflectivity of longitudinal pavement markings; notice of proposed amendments.” Fed. Reg., 75(77), 20935–20941.
Granqvist, C. G., and Hultåker, A. (2002). “Transparent and conducting ITO films: New developments and applications.” Thin Solid Films, 411(1), 1–5.
Griffiths, D. J. (1999). Introduction to electrodynamics, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Kim, H., and Payer, J. H. (1999). “Tarnish process of silver in 100 ppb H2 S containing environments.” J. Corros. Sci. Eng., 1.
Lee, H. Y., and Yu, C. Y. (2003). “Visibility effectiveness of hemisphere and corner cube retroreflective pavement markers on curved roads.” J. Transp. Eng., 77–83.
Livingston, J. D. (1999). Electronic properties of engineering materials, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Martin, D. C. (1988). U.S. Patent No. 4,801,193—Retroreflective sheet material and method of making the same, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC.
Ota, I. (1972). U.S. Patent No. 3,668,106: Electrophoretic display device, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC.
Ota, I., Ohnishi, J., and Yoshiyama, M. (1973). “Electrophoretic image display (EPID) panel.” Proc. IEEE, 61(7), 832–836.
Rodier, C., Finson, R. S., Lidicker, J., and Shaheen, S. A. (2010). “An evaluation of the consequences and effectiveness of using highway changeable message signs for safety campaigns.”, California PATH Program, Institute of Transportation Studies, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.
Sheridan, N. K. (1978). U.S. Patent No. 4,126,854—Twisting ball panel display, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC.
Wang, J., Collyer, C., and Yang, C. (2005). “Enhancing driver safety through proper message design on variable message signs.”, Univ. of Rhode Island Transportation Center, Kingston, RI.
Yin, S. (2010). “Solution processed silver sulfide thin films for filament memory applications.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.
Zwahlen, H. T. (1989). “Conspicuity of suprathreshold reflective targets in a driver’s peripheral visual field at night.”, 34–46.
Zwahlen, H. T., and Schnell, T. (2000). “Minimum in-service retroreflectivity of pavement markings.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1715(1), 60–70.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 1 • January 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 5, 2013
Accepted: May 14, 2014
Published online: Jul 21, 2014
Discussion open until: Dec 21, 2014
Published in print: Jan 1, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.