ROAD MARKINGS |
The next generation
of retroreflectometers
Delta’s new LTL3000 is smaller and lighter than most other retroreflectometers,
offering fast and easy retroreflection measurements of road markings
Words | Kjeld Aabye, Delta Light and Optics, Denmark
Above: Mobile
retroreflectometers
are a convenient
and efficient way
of measuring
road markings
With autonomous vehicles
around the corner, there
is an increasing focus
on the performance
of road markings. Automated
vehicles use such markings
for navigation and therefore
require a minimum level
of retroreflection to
“see” the markings.
A growing number of
road authorities are in
the process of recognizing
this challenge and may
soon realize the need for
better-performing markings.
Automated driving systems
are divided into five levels of
automation, with level one offering
lane tracking or automatic warning
if the vehicle drifts beyond road
markings, and level five covering
fully automated vehicles needing
no human interaction. In other
words, all levels of automated
106 Intertraffic World | Annual Showcase 2020
vehicles will benefit from highperforming
road markings.
To guarantee high performance,
a more extensive checking of the
markings’ retroreflection levels
using retroreflectometers
will be necessary. The
challenge may centre
less on dry roads and
more on ensuring
high-performing road
markings in wet weather.
In these conditions,
markings will typically
lose 50%-75% of their
retroreflection compared
to their performance under
dry conditions. This is especially
true at night, when wet markings
become more or less invisible to
automated systems.
Retroreflection measurement
of markings can be undertaken by
mobile and handheld instruments.
Mobile instruments such as Delta’s
LTL-M are increasingly used around
the world for convenient and efficient
measurements, but have limitations
when it comes to wet markings
and rainy conditions. Handheld
instruments can be used to measure
under all weather conditions.
To prepare for an increasing
market demand for new and better
retroreflectometer instruments, Delta
will begin launching a new line of
road-marking products at the start of
2020. The LTL3000 will be Delta’s first
instrument in this new generation,
followed later in the year by more
advanced instruments.
The LTL3000 is based on the
latest technological developments
in modern design and materials.
Like Delta’s other retroreflectometer
instruments, the LTL3000 is userfriendly
as well as easy to calibrate
and operate.
The instrument is robust and
long-lasting, in addition to being
1 second The speed at which
Delta’s LTL3000
retroreflectormeter can
take measurements