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Design News, November, 2005 by Costlow, Terry

Engineers at Traffic.com Inc. faced an interesting dilemma in the late 1990s. They had devised a way to save fuel by monitoring traffic flows with sensors stationed along roadsides. But before drivers could reduce energy usage by avoiding jam-ups, the company had to figure out how to power its roadside monitoring stations.

"As the wireless world exploded, cellular technology gave us a way to send data. But if we still had to dig trenches for power lines, there was no benefit to going wireless," says Chris Rothey, COO at Traffic.com Inc.

The company opted for solar panels, which can provide the 5W requirements during the day and charge batteries that last through the night. In this application, solar is a huge money saver. "We can do...

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