For road safety, it is vital that road signs and other items of highway infrastructure are as visible as possible, particularly when light levels are low, such as at night or during inclement weather. The leading developer of light-reflection testing equipment has launched a new handheld unit for highways agencies.
Danish company Delta is launching the RetroSign GRX retroreflectometer for measuring road traffic signs and other high-reflecting traffic safety items. The new GRX range is replacing the existing RetroSign GR1 and GR3 models, which have been the world’s top-selling handheld traffic sign retroreflectometers since their launch 10 years ago. Used for measuring nighttime visibility of road traffic signs, high-visibility clothing, license plates and reflective tapes, the RetroSign GRX is considered to be the most advanced instrument on the market, and yet is still very easy to calibrate and operate. It adds new features, allowing users to carry out a more complete measurement program, for example on road traffic signs.
The instrument is offered in three base models: GRX-1, GRX-3 and GRX-7, where the digit in the name indicates the number of observation angles being active. The instrument can be delivered with up to seven entrance angles of testing, making it suitable for both field and laboratory use, besides being future-ready. The RetroSign GRX features: automatic color recognition; options for photo of sign; background and legend color retroreflection and contrast; scanning of barcodes and QR codes for asset management; instrument tilt and rotation, US MUTCD sign library; and an internal memory that can store more than 2 million readings, or more that 2,000 measurements with photo attached. The MUTCD sign library will allow the GRX to instantly tell if a measurement has passed or failed. All instruments come with all features included, but only those purchased will be available to the user. If additional features are required later on, they can easily be made available to the customer.
The GRX is intuitive in use, with measurements taken in just one second and data easily transferred to a PC or tablet. A tablet extension allows the user in the field to transfer data for backup, processing and presentation, including mapping, as well as sending data instantly to a back office. The RetroSign GRX is calibrated using references from Delta’s DANAK (Danish national accreditation body) and ILAC accredited calibration laboratory, with traceability to German PTB and US NIST standards.
