You know those white and yellow lines on the road that keep you in your lane at night? They only work if they reflect your headlights well enough — and someone has to regularly check that they do. Right now, inspection vehicles can only measure one line at a time, which means driving back and forth and closing lanes to traffic. This Irish company built a device called RetroTek-M that measures both lines on either side of a lane in a single pass, no lane closures needed, cutting the inspection cost by half.
Road authorities and survey companies currently inspect road marking reflectivity one line at a time, requiring multiple passes, lane closures, and extra crew — doubling the cost and time of every inspection route. This also creates traffic disruption and safety hazards for the inspection teams themselves. There is no widely available commercial device that can measure both lines of a lane simultaneously in a single drive-through.
RMS Ltd built RetroTek-M, a dual-line road marking retroreflectance measurement device that inspects both sides of a road lane in one pass. The project delivered a fully certified commercial product (IEC 60950), with validated versions for both European and USA markets.
If you are a road survey company spending heavily on lane-by-lane retroreflectance inspections — this project developed the RetroTek-M device that measures both road markings on either side of a lane in one pass. That means 50% reduction in inspection cost, no lane closures during measurement, and real-time data collection with a single driver.
If you are a road marking contractor who needs to verify the quality of your line work after application — this project delivered a certified measurement device that lets a single driver inspect both lines simultaneously without stopping traffic. It eliminates the need for lane closures and provides immediate data on whether your markings meet reflectivity standards.
If you are a road authority responsible for maintaining safe nighttime driving conditions across thousands of kilometers — this project produced a fully certified, commercially ready device that halves the cost of road marking inspections. It supports the goal of zero road fatalities by giving you faster, cheaper visibility into where markings have degraded.
The project data does not disclose the purchase price of the RetroTek-M device. However, the objective states it delivers a 50% reduction in the cost of line inspection by measuring two lines in one pass instead of one. Operational savings come from halving drive time, fuel, and labor per inspection route.
Yes. The device was developed to TRL 9 — full commercial application ready for customers. Product development was completed and validated for both European and USA markets, with IEC 60950 certification achieved. It is designed for fleet integration across large road networks.
RetroTek-M was developed entirely by Reflective Measurement Systems Limited, a single-partner Irish SME. As the sole consortium member, RMS Ltd holds all intellectual property. Commercial licensing or purchase terms would need to be discussed directly with RMS Ltd.
Yes. The project completed IEC 60950 certification, which covers safety of information technology equipment. Full product certification was listed as a completed deliverable. Separate product versions were validated for European and USA market specifications.
The objective highlights vehicle flexibility as a key feature — RetroTek-M is designed to mount on standard vehicles rather than requiring specialized inspection trucks. Based on available project data, driver-only operation is supported, meaning no additional crew is needed.
The project ran from August 2015 to July 2017 and is now closed. All key deliverables were completed: product certification, IEC 60950 certification, and product development for both Euro and USA markets. The technology should be commercially available through RMS Ltd.
The project explicitly completed product development for both European and USA markets as separate deliverables. The objective states this is being developed for the global market. Regulatory certification was achieved to support deployment in multiple jurisdictions.
This is a single-company project: Reflective Measurement Systems Limited, an Irish SME that is 100% industry. With 1 partner across 1 country and no university or research organizations involved, this is a purely commercial development effort funded under the SME Instrument Phase 2 scheme. The absence of academic partners signals that the core science was already solved — this project was about engineering a market-ready product, getting it certified, and preparing it for international sales. For a potential buyer or partner, this means you are dealing directly with the company that built and owns the technology, with no complex multi-party IP arrangements.
Reflective Measurement Systems Limited is based in Ireland. Contact them through their company website for commercial inquiries about RetroTek-M.
Want an introduction to the RMS team to discuss RetroTek-M deployment or distribution? SciTransfer can arrange a direct meeting with the technology developer.
