Skip to main content

Mobile LTL-M from DELTA

Danish company DELTA has been highlighting its new mobile retrometer, the LTL-M, which will measure line width and other geometry properties and also be able to monitor defective or missing road pavement markers. Measuring the retroreflectivity of road markings is essential to ensure high visibility, and thus traffic safety. But, according to DELTA, until now the measurements of retroreflectivity have mostly been done with hand-held instruments.
February 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The LTM-prototype during the VTI field test
Danish company 199 Delta has been highlighting its new mobile retrometer, the LTL-M, which will measure line width and other geometry properties and also be able to monitor defective or missing road pavement markers.

Measuring the retroreflectivity of road markings is essential to ensure high visibility, and thus traffic safety. But, according to DELTA, until now the measurements of retroreflectivity have mostly been done with hand-held instruments.

It says that while such instruments are easy to use for making a limited number of measurements they are not optimal for monitoring long distances such as motorways: the road also has to be partly closed during measurements. As traffic increases, there is a growing demand for mobile measurement methods, which offer more safety for staff and drivers in traffic speed.

DELTA says that some existing mobile retrometers have limitations in accuracy and for this reason have until now only been used for screening purposes, while hand-held instruments are still needed for precise measurements if low values are screened, and for contractual disputes.

The company is now introducing its new mobile retrometer based on a new optical technology that has the same properties as used in its series of hand-held LTL retrometers.

"The objective for the development of the LTL-M has been to make a mobile retrometer that should be as easy to use and as accurate as a hand-held retrometer," says DELTA.

"Several laboratory and field tests performed by the Swedish Road Research Institute (VTI), comparing the LTL-M, an existing mobile retrometer and using a hand-held instrument as a reference, have shown that the LTL-M measures with accuracy similar to hand-held retrometers."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Barrier innovation putting traffic safety and flow first
    April 3, 2014
    Cutting-edge barriers offering greater safety at the same time as limiting traffic disruption are proving in demand on busy world highways, as Guy Woodford reports Small footprint; minimum disruption after impact; lower labour costs; all said to be elements contributing to the growing popularity of the Trend terminal from Trinity Highway Products. This family of end terminals offers a range of safe and efficient solutions to barrier ends with quick and easy assembly and installation. Trinity claims th
  • Europe's smart road pricing project
    February 20, 2012
    New trials pave the way for smart road pricing using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). In recent years, the concept of road charging has been gaining acceptability among Europe's policymakers.
  • Big measuring from TinyMobileRobots
    February 27, 2017
    Small is beautiful, especially when it comes to robots, explains Jens Peder Kristensen, director of Danish company TinyMobileRobots With the increased functionality of outdoor robots, the market for autonomous robots as a replacement for human work has widened. The human touch is still needed when dealing with terrain that is difficult to navigate or with a crowded construction site.
  • Rigorous testing for high performance materials
    February 9, 2012
    Today’s highways require high performance materials, and this means rigorous testing as Patrick Smith reports Highways are under greater pressure than ever today and asphalts have to grant high performances in order to withstand traffic and meet the standards. Studying the plastic permanent deformations in hot mix asphalt (HMA) is very important to obtain useful information for mix designers as an appropriate mix design will reduce the formation of unevenness on road surface. To investigate the effect of mi