Quick Dips

Lighting the Way

Lights which take their power by induction from a buried wire rather than direct wiring to a power source put New Zealand company Harding Electronic Systems at the forefront of road lighting technology.

"SmartStud" uses high intensity LEDs inside the well-known highway "cat's-eyes". They can be remotely controlled to glow green, amber or red, or to flash, providing not just lane marking but a traffic control system more cheaply than existing methods.

Manager Dim Ramsteijn says the technology has a large number of potential uses from emergency lighting inside buildings, to airport runway lighting, domestic outdoor lighting, in-pool illumination, and safe, spark-free lighting in mines.