RetroTek retroreflectometer road marking scanning technology arrives in Australia
Reflective Measurement Systems Ltd has launched the new RetroTek-D vehicle mounted road marking retroreflectometer in Australia and has already secured sales with the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) and appointed Geveko Markings APAC as the local distributor.
The RetroTek-D is the first full lane width vehicle mounted retroreflectometer that can operate day or night that is certified to EN1436, ASTM E 1710 standards. As a front-mounted mobile system this innovation in road marking condition surveying can record retroreflectivity and day contrast ratio measurements for left, right and centre lane road markings /symbols and also the presence and absence of reflective pavement markers (RPMs/road studs), all in one survey, reducing survey travel costs by up to 50%. The RetroTek-D uses the latest machine vision and LED projector technology combined with powerful QuickView-Pro GPS tracking reporting software offering the potential to radically transform retroreflectivity road marking condition surveys for road agencies and maintenance operators.
The Australian road marking industry is currently undergoing significant changes, with initiatives in place to standardise on road markings across the territory. In addition, a recent Austroads research report made a series of recommendations to improve road markings in preparation for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV). Vehicle safety systems such as Lane Keep Assist (LKA) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) systems rely on quality road markings to operate safely. As a result, the launch of the RetroTek-D could not have come at a better time for the Australian road marking industry.
The RetroTek-D retroreflectometer system will be integrated into ARRB’s purpose-built reflectivity vehicles which join the national ARRB fleet. This enables ARRB to collect high frequency and high-quality data across the country as they assist road agencies to overlay multiple datasets including road safety risk data and additional asset management data to prioritise and program linemarking activities.
Michael Caltabiano, CEO of ARRB, said “Adding world best reflectivity data collection vehicles in our national fleet will provide the data required to identify where the greatest safety benefits can be gained from remarking, it will also enable surveys of the network to identify ‘road readiness’ for ADAS and CAVs.”
ARRB is the source of independent expert transport knowledge, advising key decision makers in Australia & New Zealand. They have earned a reputation for scientific integrity and are the leading providers of value-added applied research and technical services.
“We are delighted to be working with ARRB and supporting them in this important area”, said Joe Turley, Chief Executive of Reflective Measurement Systems Ltd. “As part of our commitment to supporting our customers in Australia and New Zealand we are also pleased to announce the appointment of our local distributor, Geveko Markings APAC. We look forward to a strong working relationship with Ian Cocoran and his team at Geveko Markings APAC to push the boundaries within the road markings field in bringing new road marking products and technologies to their customers and road marking industry.”
Ian Cocoran, Managing Director of Geveko Markings APAC, said; “we are very excited regarding the collaboration with RetroTek in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. The RetroTek device(s) have clear and unique points of differentiation, excellent technological capability and are a great augmentation to our existing range of equipment in these countries. The Geveko Markings APAC team is really looking forward to working with RetroTek and developing the relationship going forward.”
The RetroTek-D has been independently certified to EN1436, ASTM E1710 and has been confirmed to provide the same level of accuracy in retroreflectivity measurement as handheld devices, but at normal road traffic speeds. This eliminates the need for road closures or traffic disruption while simultaneously gathering all the data digitally to pinpoint road marking failures.
The RetroTek-D also come with User Friendly QuickView-Pro (QVP) mapping and video reporting software. QVP stores a menu list of all surveys with maps & video for instant analysis.
The software provides reports at the end of each survey showing all results averaged in 100 meter / 100 yard and 1 km / 1-mile segments with flexible colour coded performance thresholds in various GPS tagged output formats – csv, kml, shp, pdf and video files. Reports are available on a removable USB memory device.
