Summary Reader Response Draft 4

According to a blog post entitled, “Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways of The Future” (2020), roads are usually neglected in discussions about the digital transformation of transportation. Safety, efficiency, and sustainability can be improved by upgrading roads with Smart Road Technology (SRT). SRT enhances visibility, generates energy and allows communication between vehicles, improving driver’s experience on roads. The blog post also describes how innovations such as solar powered roadways, weather and traffic detection help to boost safety and road efficiency. ‘Glow in the Dark Roads’ and ‘Interactive Lights’ will aid in visibility while supporting sustainability. Smart Roads and Electric Priority Lanes allow electric vehicle charging on the road and vehicle communication. The blog post includes that governments and transport authorities understand the importance of adopting SRT. While the development of these innovations at scale can be expensive, leaders can initiate smaller scale projects before spearheading large-scale efforts. Having SRT drives the future of transportation and provides governments with the power over road traffic. With the implementation of SRT, the convenience and safety of road users and road sustainability will be greatly improved.

Convenience can be considered as one of the first factors that SRT might tackle. One such development that challenges this is called electric charging roads. These roads would improve convenience by providing energy to EVs while travelling between destinations. In January 2020, a test run of an electric charging road was conducted in Tel Aviv, Israel by a company named Electreon (“Electreon successfully operates bus”, 2021). During the trial period, it was reported that the system managed to continuously transmit energy to an electric bus over a 700-metre road while the bus was both still and travelling. This solution reduces the need for charging stations, thus saving time for EV road users while also saving city infrastructure space. Therefore, electric charging roads boost convenience for road users.

Another implementation of SRT would be to enhance safety for road users and improve the sustainability of road infrastructure. An idea installed along the N329 highway in Amsterdam, glow in the dark roads, is one such solution. They work by having a stretch of road painted with “photo-luminizing” powder that charges during the day and releases a green glow at night (Garber, 2014). These road strips are planted along dark highways or roads to illuminate paths for road users at night, improving safety for driving at night. It is also an alternative to using street lamps, aiding in sustainability and reducing energy costs.

Not all SRT has been successful in improving the road infrastructure, however. “The World’s First Solar Road” in France had reportedly turned out to be a failure (Pasley, 2019). Pasley stated that the solar powered road was supposed to generate electricity that would power streetlights in a local town. However, even at their peak, the roads only produced half of their expected energy, with a steady decline over three years. The road also suffered many damages throughout its trial, further reducing its effectiveness and incurring high costs. While a good idea, in theory, its practicality fell short due to the expensive price outweighing the cost it would save.

Since convenience and safety are the goals of SRT, there are innovations in the works that provide solutions for both. In an article by South China Morning Post, one popular innovation that would improve both safety and convenience of road users is the implementation of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology. C-V2X is a communication system that connects vehicles to other vehicles and the city infrastructure. The article claims it would “provide real-time warnings and data for 10 different driving conditions on the road” and calculate possible outcomes before alerting the driver (SCMP, 2021). It also works with autonomous vehicles, providing solutions such as alleviating traffic jams by closely grouping cars. Hence, C-V2X is one solution to improve both safety and convenience.

As SRT begins to develop, innovations will bring out advancements in digitizing transport. These innovations will improve road safety features and enhance the convenience of road users while promoting road sustainability.

References:

Garber, M. (2014, April 16). This is what it’s like to drive on a glow-in-the-dark highway.
The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/this-is-what-its-like-to-drive-on-a-glow-in-the-dark-highway/360737/

Pasley, J. (2019, August 16). The world’s first solar road has officially crumbled into a total failure. ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-world-s-first-solar-road-has-turned-out-to-be-a-disappointing-failure

PR Newswire. (2021, March 18). Electreon successfully Operates Bus Charged via Electric Road in Tel Aviv. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electreon-successfully-operates-bus-charged-via-electric-road-in-tel-aviv-301249978.html

South China Morning Post. (2021, March 2). How smart 5G vehicle communication system will reduce fatal road accidents. https://www.scmp.com/presented/tech/topics/5g-network-drives-safer-travel/article/3123234/how-smart-5g-vehicle

Vrioeurope. (2020). Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways Of the Future. https://vrioeurope.com/en/smart-road-technology-digital-highways-of-the-future/

Featured

Critical Reflection

The SIE2016 “Effective Communications” module, as the name suggests, has taught me some of the essential communication tools that can and should be used in the transfer of knowledge from one party to another. I found the module to be an enriching experience as I have a deep interest in having my opinions be heard. As expected, the module taught skills that are required to effectively communicate between the sender and the receiver. During the module, professor Brad Blackstone taught me key components of communication such as critical thinking and it got me to learn more about expressing myself effectively.

Prior to the module, I thought I knew a lot about communications in general as I had taken up similar modules such as Cognitive Functions and Behavioural Organisation during my study at Republic Polytechnic. However, from the first few lessons, I could tell that there was still more to learn. Throughout the lessons, professor Blackstone made us all feel comfortable during his teachings as he would always use personal experience to form a connection. Effective Communications was a great module and I thoroughly enjoyed it, albeit having tight submission schedules.

As I had previously learnt some communication skills before, I was able to attract praise from my peers during small readings and team assignments. The only trouble I had was misunderstanding some concepts. But from the things taught in the module, I felt my understanding of communications has improved since the start. In report writing, I learned how to paraphrase, summarize and cite sources properly. For my oral presentation, I learnt not to rely on slides and to use non-verbal cues to bring out the most in my presentation.

Although I have learnt a lot in this module, I feel like there is always more to learn about communication. For example, I would really like to learn more about non-verbal presentations. If time is available, I would like to learn about such skills to further improve my presentation delivery and visual aids for communication with actions such as reading up on scholarly articles or watching media like TED talks to understand more.

One of the highlights of the module was the oral presentation. In my past experience, I had to do daily presentations in Republic Polytechnic which strengthened my presentation skills. However, the presentations I did back then did not carry as much weight as the oral presentation. As my team and I were preparing for the presentation, I thought I could present the way I’m used to but found it was harder than expected. I learnt that to have an effective presentation, you should not always refer to the slides which were what I had always been doing in polytechnic.

Thinking back on the presentation, I felt as if I had done better than my practice runs which surprised me. The change from a virtual presentation to a face to face presentation caused a large momentum shift. During the practice runs, I was stuttering all over the place and forgetting my points. In the actual presentation, I managed to compose myself and presented the best I could and got results that I am pleased with. Looking back at it, I learnt many things such as how to conclude the presentation and work together with a team.

To better prepare for the presentation, our team arrived at the designated venue one hour earlier to practice in person. This helped us get comfortable with each other and give each other feedback to improve our presentation. While there was a point of time in the presentation where one of our members had to excuse herself, my team and I kept our composure in order to finish strong. In the end, the presentation went very well and I was glad to have presented alongside my teammates.

With the experience of performing a weighted presentation in my blood, I believe I will be more confident in future presentations. Using concepts like visual aids and non-verbal cues to bring out my ideas effectively will be the things that bring out more in my future presentations. However, these concepts were not discussed in depth throughout the module and I hope to learn more about them in the future. I have to sincerely thank professor Blackstone for giving me this opportunity to learn and providing an excellent learning experience. Communication skills are something that I will be using for the rest of my life in many different scenarios and I am glad to have had a pleasant experience with a knowledgeable and approachable teacher.

Summary Reader Response

According to a blog post titled, “Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways of The Future” (2020), roads are usually neglected in discussions about the digital transformation of transportation. Safety, efficiency, and sustainability can be improved by upgrading roads with Smart Road Technology (SRT). SRT enhances visibility, generates energy and allows communication between vehicles, improving driver’s experience on roads. The blog post also describes innovations such as Solar Powered Roadways, Weather and Traffic Detection help to boost safety and road efficiency. Glow in the Dark Roads and Interactive Lights will aid in visibility while supporting sustainability. Smart Roads and Electric Priority Lanes allow electric vehicle charging on the road and vehicle communication. The blog post includes that governments and transport authorities understand the importance of adopting SRT. While the development of these innovations at scale can be expensive, leaders can initiate smaller scale projects before spearheading large-scale efforts. Having SRT drives the future of transportation and provides governments with the power over road traffic. With the implementation of SRT, the convenience and safety of road users will be greatly improved.

Convenience can be considered as one of the first factors that SRT might tackle. One such development that challenges this is called electric charging roads. These roads would improve convenience by providing energy to EVs while travelling between destinations. In January 2020, a test run of an electric charging road was conducted in Tel Aviv, Israel by a company named Electreon. During the trial period, it was reported that the system managed to continuously transmit energy to an electric bus over a 700-metre road while the bus was both still and travelling (“Electreon successfully operates bus”, 2021). This solution reduces the need for charging stations, thus saving time for EV road users while also saving city infrastructure space. Therefore, electric charging roads boost convenience for road users.

Another implementation of SRT would be to enhance safety for road users and improve the sustainability of road infrastructure. An idea installed along the N329 highway in Amsterdam, glow in the dark roads, is one such solution. They work by painting a stretch of road with “photo-luminizing” powder that charges during the day and releases a green glow at night (Garber, 2014). These road strips are planted along dark highways or roads to illuminate paths for road users at night, improving safety for driving at night. It is also an alternative to using street lamps, aiding in sustainability and reducing energy costs.

Not all SRT has been successful in improving the road infrastructure, however. “The World’s First Solar Road” in France had reportedly turned out to be a failure (Pasley, 2019). The article stated that the Solar Powered Road was supposed to generate electricity that would power streetlights in a local town. However, even at their peak, the roads only produced half of their expected energy, with a steady decline over three years. The road also suffered many damages throughout its trial, further reducing its effectiveness and incurring high costs. While a good idea, in theory, its practicality fell short due to the expensive price outweighing the cost it would save.

Since convenience and safety are the goals of SRT, there are innovations in the works that provide solutions for both. In an article by South China Morning Post, one popular innovation that would improve both safety and convenience of road users is the implementation of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology. C-V2X is a communication system that connects vehicles to other vehicles and the city infrastructure. The article claims it would “provide real-time warnings and data for 10 different driving conditions on the road” and calculate possible outcomes before alerting the driver (SCMP, 2021). It also works with autonomous vehicles, providing solutions such as alleviating traffic jams by closely grouping cars. Hence, C-V2X is one solution to improve safety and convenience.

References:

Garber, M. (2014, April 16). This is what it’s like to drive on a glow-in-the-dark highway. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/this-is-what-its-like-to-drive-on-a-glow-in-the-dark-highway/360737/

Pasley, J. (2019, August 16). The world’s first solar road has officially crumbled into a total failure. ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-world-s-first-solar-road-has-turned-out-to-be-a-disappointing-failure

PR Newswire. (2021, March 18). Electreon successfully Operates Bus Charged via Electric Road in Tel Aviv. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electreon-successfully-operates-bus-charged-via-electric-road-in-tel-aviv-301249978.html

South China Morning Post. (2021, March 2). How smart 5G vehicle communication system will reduce fatal road accidents. https://www.scmp.com/presented/tech/topics/5g-network-drives-safer-travel/article/3123234/how-smart-5g-vehicle

Vrioeurope. (2020). Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways Of the Future. https://vrioeurope.com/en/smart-road-technology-digital-highways-of-the-future/

Summary Reader Response Draft 2

According to a blog post titled, “Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways of The Future” (2020), roads are usually neglected in discussions about the digital transformation of transportation. Safety, efficiency and sustainability can be improved by upgrading roads with Smart Road Technology (SRT). SRT enhances visibility, generates energy and allows communication between vehicles, improving driver’s experience on roads. The blog post also describes innovations such as Solar Powered Roadways, Weather and Traffic Detection help to boost safety and road efficiency. Glow in the Dark Roads and Interactive Lights will aid in visibility while supporting sustainability. Smart Roads and Electric Priority Lanes allow electric vehicle charging on the road and vehicle communication. The blog post includes that governments and transport authorities understand the importance of adopting SRT. While the development of these innovations at scale can be expensive, leaders can initiate smaller scale projects before spearheading large-scale efforts. Having SRT drives the future of transportation and provides governments with the power over road traffic. With the implementation of SRT, the convenience and safety of road users will be greatly improved.

An SRT that is under development is called electric charging roads. These roads would improve convenience by providing energy to EVs while travelling between destinations. In January 2020, a test run of an electric charging road was conducted in Tel Aviv, Israel by a company named Electreon. During the trial period, it was reported that the system managed to continuously transmit energy to an electric bus over a 700-metre road while the bus was both still and travelling (“Electreon successfully operates bus”, 2021). This solution reduces the need for charging stations, thus saving time for EV road users while also saving city infrastructure space. Therefore, electric charging roads boost convenience for road users.

Glow in the dark roads is one such solution to improving road safety. They work by painting a stretch of road with “photo-luminizing” powder that charges during the day and releases a green glow at night (Garber, 2014). These road strips are planted along dark highways or roads to illuminate paths for road users at night, improving safety for driving at night. It is also an alternative to using street lamps, aiding in sustainability and reducing energy costs.

Not all SRT has been successful, however. “The World’s First Solar Road” in France had reportedly turned out to be a failure (Pasley, 2019). The article stated that the Solar Powered Road was supposed to generate electricity that would power streetlights in a local town. However, even at their peak, the roads only produced half of their expected energy, with a steady decline over three years. The road also suffered many damages throughout its trial, further reducing its effectiveness and incurring high costs. While a good idea, in theory, its practicality fell short due to the expensive price outweighing the cost it would save.

Lastly, in an article by South China Morning Post, one popular innovation that would improve both safety and convenience of road users is the implementation of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology. C-V2X is a communication system that connects vehicles to other vehicles and the city infrastructure. The article claims it would “provide real-time warnings and data for 10 different driving conditions on the road” and calculate possible outcomes before alerting the driver (SCMP, 2021). It also works with autonomous vehicles, providing solutions such as alleviating traffic jams by closely grouping cars. Hence, C-V2X is one solution to improve safety and convenience.

References

How smart 5G vehicle communication system will reduce fatal road accidents. South China Morning Post. (2021, March 2). https://www.scmp.com/presented/tech/topics/5g-network-drives-safer-travel/article/3123234/how-smart-5g-vehicle

Vrioeurope. (2020). Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways Of the Future. https://vrioeurope.com/en/smart-road-technology-digital-highways-of-the-future/

Summary Reader Response Draft 1

According to a blog post titled, “Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways of The Future” (2020), roads are usually neglected in discussions about the digital transformation of transportation. Safety, efficiency and sustainability can be improved by upgrading roads with Smart Road Technology (SRT). SRT enhances visibility, generates energy and allows communication between vehicles, improving driver’s experience on roads. The blog post also describes innovations such as Solar Powered Roadways, Weather and Traffic Detection help to boost safety and road efficiency. Glow in the Dark Roads and Interactive Lights will aid in visibility while supporting sustainability. Smart Roads and Electric Priority Lanes allow electric vehicle charging on the road and vehicle communication. The blog post includes that governments and transport authorities understand the importance of adopting SRT. While the development of these innovations at scale can be expensive, leaders can initiate smaller scale projects before spearheading large-scale efforts. Having SRT drives the future of transportation and provides governments with the power over road traffic. With the implementation of SRT, the convenience and safety of road users will be greatly improved.

A type of SRT that would boost the convenience of electric vehicles (EV) currently being developed are electric charging roads. These roads would provide energy to EVs while they are on the road, thus reducing fear of running out of battery for EV users. In January 2020, a test run of an electric charging road was conducted in Tel Aviv, Israel by a company called Electreon. During the trial period, it was reported that the system managed to work continuously to transmit energy to an electric bus over a 700-metre road while the bus was both still and on the move, all while the coil infrastructure was buried beneath the road (“Electreon successfully operates bus”, 2021). This provides solutions to “electrify transportation” without directly affecting visual elements or consuming space.

A solution to improving road safety would be glow in the dark roads. They work by painting a stretch of road with “photo-luminizing” powder that charges in the day and releases a green glow at night (Garber, 2014). These road strips are planted along highways or roads that are too dark to provide some form of illumination for road users at night, hence improving safety. It is also an alternative to using street lamps, aiding in sustainability and reducing energy costs.

Not all SRT have proven to be successful, however. “The World’s First Solar Road” in France had turned out to be a failure (Pasley, 2019). The Solar Powered Road built was supposed to generate electricity that would “power streetlights” in a local town. However, even at its peak, it only produced half of the expected energy, with a steady decline over a span of three years. The road also suffered many damages throughout its trial, further reducing the effectiveness and increasing cost.

As SRT begins to develop, new innovations will bring out advancement in digitizing transport. This will improve road safety features and improve the convenience of road users. It will also help to achieve sustainability of road use.

References:

Electreon successfully Operates Bus Charged via Electric Road in Tel Aviv. (2021). PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electreon-successfully-operates-bus-charged-via-electric-road-in-tel-aviv-301249978.html

Garber, M. (2014, April 16). This is what it’s like to drive on a glow-in-the-dark highway. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/this-is-what-its-like-to-drive-on-a-glow-in-the-dark-highway/360737/.

Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways Of the Future. (2020). Vrioeurope. https://vrioeurope.com/en/smart-road-technology-digital-highways-of-the-future/

The World’s First Solar Road Has Officially Crumbled Into a Total Failure. (2019, August 16). ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-world-s-first-solar-road-has-turned-out-to-be-a-disappointing-failure

Summary Draft 2

According to a blog post titled, “Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways of The Future” (2020), roads are usually neglected in discussions about the digital transformation of transportation. Safety, efficiency and sustainability can be improved by upgrading roads with Smart Road Technology (SRT). SRT enhances visibility, generates energy and allows communication between vehicles, improving driver’s experience on roads. The blog post also describes innovations such as Solar Powered Roadways, Weather and Traffic Detection help to boost safety and road efficiency. Glow in the Dark Roads and Interactive Lights will aid in visibility while supporting sustainability. Smart Roads and Electric Priority Lanes allow electric vehicle charging on the road and vehicle communication. The blog post includes that governments and transport authorities understand the importance of adopting SRT. While the development of these innovations at scale can be expensive, leaders can initiate smaller scale projects before spearheading large-scale efforts. Having SRT drives the future of transportation and provides governments with the power over road traffic.

Vrioeurope. (2020). Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways Of the Future. https://vrioeurope.com/en/smart-road-technology-digital-highways-of-the-future/

Summary Draft 1

According to “Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways of The Future”, roads are usually neglected in discussions about the digital transformation of transportation. Safety, efficiency and sustainability can be improved by upgrading roads with Smart Road Technology (SRT). SRT enhances visibility, generates energy and allows communication between vehicles. Hence, improving driver’s experience on roads.

Innovations such as “Solar Powered Roadways”, “Weather and Traffic Detection” help to boost safety and road efficiency. “Glow in the Dark Roads” and “Interactive Lights” will aid in visibility while supporting sustainability. “Smart Roads” and “Electric Priority Lanes” allow electric vehicle charging on the road and vehicle communication.

Today, government and transport authorities understand the importance of adopting SRT. While the development of these innovations at scale can be expensive, leaders can initiate smaller scale projects before spearheading large-scale efforts. Having SRT drives the future of transportation and provides governments with the power over road traffic.

Smart Road Technology: Digital Highways Of the Future. Vrio (2020). https://vrioeurope.com/en/smart-road-technology-digital-highways-of-the-future/

Formal Letter to Professor Brad

Subject: Self Introduction to Professor Brad Blackstone

Dear Professor Brad

I am writing this email to introduce myself to you as one of your students in your Effective Communications class. My name is Tine Nyiyaza, a first-year student taking a bachelor’s degree in engineering at the Singapore Institute of Technology. My first engineering experience was during my diploma programme at Republic Polytechnic (RP), where I studied aerospace avionics. While growing up, I came to understand that engineering helped to improve many people’s lives, inspiring me to pursue a career in this field.

Having studied in RP, I am used to performing daily presentations to the class since it was the teaching style of the faculty. This trained me to be more expressive when I am presenting. This proved to be effective during my final year presentation where I could see the attention in my audience’s eyes. However, I tend to misrepresent information when I am rephrasing it, often contradicting myself. This weakness surfaced during one of my past presentations and it resulted in my audience giving me confused expressions followed up with others pointing it out.

I enjoy engaging in conversation. Therefore, I would love to be able to find out what I could do to grab people’s attention in communication so that others will listen. To improve my interpretation skill, I would also like to learn how to effectively understand other’s thoughts without misrepresenting them. A fun fact about me is that I always like to lean towards the less popular side of discussions. A recent example would be when a game company did something controversial to upset its consumers, and it received a lot of hate from the player base. While it was widely accepted that the company did something wrong, I would always lean towards understanding why the company made such actions and gave it the benefit of the doubt. I hope to improve my communication skills so I can express my feelings when I discuss these controversial topics.

By going through this module with you and the class, I hope to improve my speaking and writing skills and to be able to effectively exchange ideas with the world.

Best regards

Tine

Revised on 12 Dec 2021

Commented on: Asher, Coco, Daniiel, Syahirah, Hong Qian

Task 5.2 “Critical Thinking: The Soul of Communication”

Effective communication is the most crucial success factor in project management. Poor communication leads to poor engagement and management, which risks the efficiency of completing a project. Failure to achieve effective communication might even lead to a monetary loss. As a leader, it will be essential to get my thoughts and ideas across to my team by convincing through strong reasoning and intellectual standards. My team must be able to understand and agree with my thoughts for them to passionately work towards completing a project.

As communication is a two-way street, Critical Thinking must be applied for effective communication. Critical thinking is a tool that we can use to express our thoughts with coherence and clarity to the receiver. The Paul-Elder Critical Thinking framework is a useful framework that will improve my ability to lead by getting my thoughts across through the elements of reasoning and applying intellectual standards and traits. Combined with the 7C’s of communication, achieving effective communication would be straightforward, allowing my team to complete assigned tasks with efficiency and perfection.

“Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership.” -Gilbert Amelio

In Amelio’s idea of communication, he talks about effective leadership and the principle of communication behind it. A leader’s role is to provide instructions and to guide his/her followers to complete a task where the leader must be able to communicate his point across efficiently, clearly and concise for his followers to understand and act upon. The leader is also responsible for boosting the morale of his team, allowing them to be passionate about their work, providing better results. In turn, the followers must also trust the leader and his ability to lead.