>I'd really like to hear what someone in EE sees as the major design flaws (or is it merely conceptual?).
OK, I'll pick just one thing.
These panels are going to need electrical connectors to plug into each other. These connectors are, naturally, going to need to be waterproof and have the ability to survive the vibration of traffic and the movement of the earth. That means they'll have to be compliant connectors. They're going to have to survive what happens when, say, water gets between the tiles, the heater fails for some reason, the the water freezes, expanding the space between all the tiles. And they're going to have to survive that for the expected ~20 year lifespan. We're talking about what's effectively a mil-spec connector.
Something like the below. And you don't want to know what that connector costs. It blows up the cost model by itself. Electronics just don't belong on the ground, being pounded by vehicles, and submerged in water and subject to the immense pressures of a moving earth. They just don't.
Roughly speaking, making a working prototype might cost, say $100/tile (just making that up).. Making it to commercial grade (rooftop-grade) probably costs $200/tile. Making it industrial grade $500/tile. Making something "mil-spec" is likely on the order of $1000/tile. A full order of magnitude. And I honestly think that's the kind of engineering that would be required for these things to survive 20 years on the ground, being pounded.
When they say it's only 50% more expensive, I suspect they're quoting the $100 price. And I have no doubt they could create a really slick, functional testbed road. But I'd predict it'd all go to shit in a big hurry once scaled to practical application.
OK, I'll pick just one thing.
These panels are going to need electrical connectors to plug into each other. These connectors are, naturally, going to need to be waterproof and have the ability to survive the vibration of traffic and the movement of the earth. That means they'll have to be compliant connectors. They're going to have to survive what happens when, say, water gets between the tiles, the heater fails for some reason, the the water freezes, expanding the space between all the tiles. And they're going to have to survive that for the expected ~20 year lifespan. We're talking about what's effectively a mil-spec connector.
Something like the below. And you don't want to know what that connector costs. It blows up the cost model by itself. Electronics just don't belong on the ground, being pounded by vehicles, and submerged in water and subject to the immense pressures of a moving earth. They just don't.
When they say it's only 50% more expensive, I suspect they're quoting the $100 price. And I have no doubt they could create a really slick, functional testbed road. But I'd predict it'd all go to shit in a big hurry once scaled to practical application.