Inspectigence

🚧 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲? 🚗 Imagine this: you’re about to drink a glass of water but it's unsafe for consumption. How would you react? We would refuse to drink it, because a non-standard product that could harm our health is simply unacceptable. Now think about our roads. What happens when road markings—vital for guiding drivers safely—become invisible in certain conditions? Does that mean the road is 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱? Absolutely. Non-visible markings can have 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀, even leading to accidents, injury, or worse. So why do we tolerate 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀 with 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 that endanger our lives? In the video below, you’ll see the IJssel Bridge, part of the Dutch A1 highway in a common scenario: it's night, there’s 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻, your windshield wipers are working overtime, oncoming traffic creates glare, and lights reflecting off the wet road surface. But there’s one crucial thing missing: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, leaving you unsure of your lane or where to change routes. This isn't an unusual situation—𝟭𝟯𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 in the Netherlands mean this scenario happens far too often. Fortunately, there are 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 available that provide high reflectivity, even on wet surfaces. But many road authorities 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 which sections of their roads have visibility issues. Without this knowledge, how can they ensure roads meet the necessary standards? 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱. If road authorities don’t have real-time data about road conditions, how can they make informed decisions? They risk 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 some areas while 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, all without a clear maintenance plan. 💡 Our 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 can pinpoint sections where markings are invisible, helping road authorities create safe, and 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 roads. Roads where markings guide and protect drivers in all weather conditions, making driving a safe task for everyone. Let’s stop managing roads blindly. Let’s make roads safe for drivers, day and night, rain or shine. #RoadSafety #SmartMaintenance #AssetManagement #TrafficSafety #Rijkswaterstaat #RoadMarkings #MarkingVisibility #Inspectigence #InspectiMark

⚠️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗺𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 ⚠️ I recently had a conversation with a road authority in a municipality that revealed an eye-opening truth: 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Why? Because once a defect is found, they are required to fix it immediately. And due to 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, they prefer 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 where the risks are. This approach is like 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹—if you find a harmful product, you’re obligated to recall it. But in this case, it’s roads and lives at stake. With 𝟭.𝟭𝟵 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 globally, the lack of a comprehensive road monitoring system is becoming a major issue. In many places, there’s no regular measurement at all. And where monitoring exists, road maintenance companies often handle the reporting—leading to a 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁. Both road authorities and maintenance companies are responsible for road conditions, making independent data collection critical. 𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱-𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 to ensure accurate data and safer roads for everyone. The video below shows the 𝗔𝟭𝟮 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆 at night during heavy rain. It highlights just how difficult and dangerous it can be for drivers when road marking conditions are not properly monitored and maintained. #RoadSafety #SmartMaintenance #AssetManagement #TrafficSafety #Rijkswaterstaat #RoadMarkings #MarkingVisibility #Inspectigence #InspectiMark

𝐏𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡'𝐃 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒: 𝐀 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐣𝐤𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐚𝐭 Last week, we had the incredible opportunity to be one of the six finalists at Enschede Slush'D 2024, presenting Inspectigence in front of 300 startups and 100 investors. With just 1 minute to pitch years of hard work by our enthusiastic team, we showcased our latest innovation in road safety. Do you know why the Netherlands has such great highways? The national road authority, Rijkswaterstaat, invests heavily in improving road quality, and they are always seeking innovations for continuous improvement. That’s why Martin Wijnen, Director General of Rijkswaterstaat, attended this great startup event to talk about their organization and connect with startups. We’re honored to have collaborated with Rijkswaterstaat, and I had the privilege of meeting Martin Wijnen to present our latest developments. Our new idea focuses on providing risk reports to road users. We’ve already developed a visibility road marking report for road authorities. Now, we’re enhancing it by combining road condition data across different weather conditions and times with historical accident data to generate comprehensive risk reports. This information empowers road authorities to prioritize maintenance activities based on the risk factors of road defects and the functionality of road markings. Additionally, it will be available to road users through a map and navigation system that suggests the safest routes—not just the fastest or shortest. Watch my 1-minute pitch to learn more about our vision. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to drive innovation in road safety! Novel-T | Enschede Slush'D | Joris Harbers | Rutger Krans | Erik van Berge Henegouwen | #Slush #RoadSafety #Innovation #Inspectigence #roadmarking #InspectiMark #TrafficSafety #MarkingVisibility #AssetManagement

Is Een Gemeente Aansprakelijk voor Schade Door Defecte Wegmarkeringen? Ja. Onvoldoende of te laat uitgevoerd onderhoud van wegmarkeringen door aannemers kan leiden tot gevaarlijke ongevallen. Zelfs als aannemers verantwoordelijk zijn voor het werk, kan de wegbeheerder—of dat nu een gemeente of een andere instantie is—aansprakelijk worden gesteld als de markeringen niet aan de veiligheidsnormen voldoen. Volgens de Nederlandse wet is de wegbeheerder niet automatisch aansprakelijk als de schade onvermijdelijk was. Maar als de gemeente op de hoogte was van een gevaarlijke situatie—zoals versleten markeringen—en er voldoende tijd was om in te grijpen, kan de gemeente aansprakelijk worden gesteld voor de resulterende schade. Dit maakt wegbeheerders kwetsbaar voor juridische en financiële risico's.

Only one startup can take home the win in the pitch competition... 🏆 ... and their fate lies in the hands of our esteemed panel of judges! Let us introduce you to the people burdened with the heavy (but awesome) task of selecting the winner of the Enschede Slush'D Pitch Competition 2024™ From Stichting Eidos (who also generously provide the prize money of €10K): Berend van Rhijn Bauke van Rhijn Tim Albers Anniek Ranke With the added support of: Lea Milovich (FlowBeams) Tjerk Wietse Zweers (Student Union University of Twente) The startups wearM.AI, Nature's Principles, Ecomoni, FETCH, Inspectigence, and Lexius will pitch to these judges on Wednesday, with the award ceremony during Enschede Slush'D. In the meantime, enjoy the photos of last year when J58 took home the win! 🌟 Slush | Novel-T x REACH | Joris Harbers | Mike Verkouter | Michiel Krake | Rens Dommerholt | Peter Dieleman | Vera Boertien | Heidi van den Bos | Bas Kerkwijk | Cindy Marsman | Frank Huizing | Yvonne Kholmy - de Jong | Joe Laufer | Christian Wiencierz | Ines Prinz | Matthias Luthe | Anne Vortkamp | Alfons Kampmann | Friedrich Bach | U Parkhotel | #business | #entrepreneurship | #slush | #startup | #enschedeslushd

🌳 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝟏𝟐 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲 🌳 As a road authority at Rijkswaterstaat, you might receive occasional complaints about road marking visibility issues. Upon investigation, your inspectors may find no apparent problems using standard retroreflectometers. However, the real challenge often arises under specific conditions. When driving from The Hague to Utrecht, after passing Gouda and Reeuwijk, you’ll encounter a section of the A12 Dutch highway lined with beautiful trees. These trees, while scenic, can create a pattern of light and shadow that severely diminishes the visibility of road markings, particularly in certain weather conditions. This effect is especially concerning for elderly drivers who rely heavily on clear lane guidance. We’ve captured 6 different videos from this specific section of the A12, managed by Rijkswaterstaat, illustrating how road markings can lose their functionality despite being technically intact. Under certain lighting conditions, these markings become nearly invisible, making it difficult for drivers to maintain their trajectory and react to upcoming traffic. In a separate post, I’ve proposed implementing a smart speed limit system to address this issue. This system would alert drivers to upcoming risks and help manage traffic flow, particularly in areas where visibility is compromised by environmental factors like tree shadows. https://lnkd.in/eM6mnNva Take a moment to watch the videos—some may require multiple viewings to fully grasp the severity of this issue. Let’s collaborate to ensure our roads remain safe for all drivers. Martin Wijnen | Rutger Krans | #RoadSafety #SmartTraffic #Innovation #Rijkswaterstaat #TrafficManagement #RoadMarkings #MarkingVisibility #AssetManagement #Inspectigence #InspectiMark #TrafficSafety

🔔𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 🔔 During my PhD, I had the privilege to join TRAIL Research School, a prestigious research school in transport and logistics. Our journey began with a course by Bert Van Wee titled 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 & 𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴. As an engineer, this was a completely new area for me. Years later, when I founded Inspectigence, I dove deeper into these concepts. Recently, I revisited an article by Bert on the advantages of a 100 km/h motorway speed limit. His strong arguments made me think about smart speed limits, especially in areas with road marking visibility issues. https://lnkd.in/eqa5rSQZ Road markings are crucial for guiding drivers, helping them navigate efficiently and safely. Our inspections have revealed various visibility issues. For instance, wet roads can obscure markings, and the position of the sun during sunrise or sunset can exhibit them nearly invisible. A notable example is driving westward on the A15 in the morning, afternoon, evening, and night, where the evening sun’s position makes it difficult to see the road clearly. 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 As a road authority, ensuring safety under these conditions can be challenging. While using better materials for improved reflection is essential, a more proactive approach involves smart traffic management. By dynamically adjusting speed limits and informing drivers of visibility issues ahead, we can significantly enhance road safety. Adjusting speed limits in response to accidents and congestion is already common practice in the Netherlands. Extending this approach to visibility issues is a logical next step. However, to implement such measures, awareness of these visibility challenges is crucial. This is where road marking visibility data becomes invaluable. Traffic managers can leverage our visibility reports to manage traffic more intelligently. The investment in collecting this data for the entire road network in the Netherlands is minimal compared to the cost of a single road fatality. In conclusion, smart speed limit control, informed by real-time road marking visibility data, can play a pivotal role in managing traffic and enhancing road safety. Let’s make our roads safer by embracing smarter traffic management solutions. 🚗💡 #RoadSafety #RoadMarkings #MarkingVisibility #AssetManagement #Inspectigence #InspectiMark #TrafficSafety #DataForChange

𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 We are conducting research on road safety and driving habits. Your insights will help us understand driving preferences and safety concerns better. This survey is anonymous and will take about 5 minutes to complete.  https://lnkd.in/eetuzKuv

𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬! 🎉 Breaking news! 🙌 We are thrilled to announce that Inspectigence has been selected for the pitch competition at Enschede Slush'D! We are among the 6 startups that will pitch in front of judges and take the spotlight on stage during the event. Last November, as part of the Dutch delegation for Slush in Helsinki, Michiel Krake asked me about my impression of Slush. I replied that I would be on the stage soon. Little did I know that a few months later, I would be pitching Inspectigence at Enschede Slush'D, with hopes of making it to the main stage at Slush in the future. I invite my network, especially road authorities and investors, to join this event and attend my pitch session on 29th August. More than 300 startups and 100 investors will be attending, making it an incredible opportunity for networking and collaboration. If you don't have a ticket (you cannot find a ticket, since it is already sold out!), you can still sign up for the waiting list here: https://lnkd.in/ec92zJxh A huge thank you to my incredible team for contributing to the development of such a fantastic product aimed at improving road safety. 🚀 Mike Verkouter | Peter Dieleman | Rens Dommerholt | Joris Harbers | Vera Boertien | 4TU.Federation | Novel-T | #RoadSafety #RoadMarkings #MarkingVisibility #AssetManagement #Inspectigence #InspectiMark #TrafficSafety #DataForChange

🛣️ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬 🛣️ Following our recent post on the importance of road marking visibility, we want to share more detailed insights, particularly focusing on merging lanes. Our recent project with Rijkswaterstaat, covering 25% of Dutch highways, provided significant findings. https://lnkd.in/eewPMW6w 🔹 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: We observed an unbalanced dataset: • 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: Used for separating traffic flow in the same direction, these constitute around 72% of road sections that have only rectangular markings (43651 sections). 16% of these sections have visibility issues, with most being healthy and visible (84%). Due to the size of this group, its high score influences the overall dataset average. • 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: Indicating merging lanes, these make up 26% of the sections (16153 sections). 🔹 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 12.44% (5430 sections) had a health score below 10, indicating imperfect markings. 3.91% (1705 sections) appeared healthy but had a visibility score below 10. 16.35% (7135 sections) had a visibility score lower than 10, indicating visibility issues under specific conditions. 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 20.90% (3376 sections) had a health score below 10. 30.84% (4982 sections) appeared healthy but had a visibility score below 10. 51.74% (8358 sections) had a visibility score lower than 10, indicating visibility issues under certain conditions. These results highlight a critical insight: 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. While the average health score for the entire network in the Netherlands is acceptable, high-traffic zones like merging lanes need more frequent monitoring and maintenance to meet standards. These sections experience higher interactions between vehicles and markings, leading to higher wear. Annual inspections are insufficient for these regions, where visibility issues can lead to increased accidents. 🔹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀: Merging lanes are crucial for road safety. They prevent dangerous interaction between vehicles entering and exiting the highway, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries caused by sudden changes in speed or direction. These lanes also provide drivers more time to merge safely before reaching intersections. Our commitment remains to enhance road safety through continuous monitoring and ensuring road markings are visible in all conditions. Let's continue working together to make our roads safer! 🛤️ Martin Wijnen | Rutger Krans | #RoadSafety #Infrastructure #RoadMarkings #MarkingVisibility #AssetManagement #Inspectigence #InspectiMark #TrafficSafety #DataForChange