Ramboll’s Raptor® Technology Is Rolling out on the Road

The information can be combined with other technologies from Ramboll RST (Road Survey Technology), such as road surface measurement (the visible condition of the road surface) and ground-penetrating radar (what the construction looks like below the surface). This combined information can create a unique knowledge base for efficient and sustainable maintenance planning of the roads.

“It’s more important than ever to measure the bearing capacity and the need for road maintenance given the climate changes we already see and unfortunately can expect in the future. Warmer winters and summers as well as more precipitation result in an increased load on our roads that wear down faster,” Peter Ekdahl, Head of Ramboll RST, says.

The method provides unique opportunities to find weak road sections and design effective solutions that offer good accessibility for heavy traffic. It also provides possibilities for preventive maintenance. That is to fix any problems before they arise, which often is significantly more cost-effective than traditional maintenance.

“This year, we have started measuring in Finland, Norway and Sweden. In Norway, we recently won a three-year contract with Statens Vejvesen (the Norwegian Road Administration), and we will measure 20,000 km of the main road network between 2021-2023. The assignment also includes measuring the asphalt thickness with ground-penetrating radar simultaneously,” Peter Ekdahl explains.

In autumn 2020, Ramboll bought the so-called Raptor Technology from Dynatest in Denmark. The purchase included three lorry trailers with high-tech equipment and a tractor. Ramboll also took over the data collection and analysis software, the Raptor brand and associated patents. At the same time, key people from Dynatest were hired to transfer the technology and knowledge to Ramboll RST to reach the market in 2021.

“Ramboll RST offers Raptor to its customers primarily as a measurement service. But we also offer the opportunity to buy the entire equipment – the same way as we are currently offering Laser RST for road surface measurement and Road Marking Tester (RMT) to check the function of road markings,” Peter Ekdahl says.

Ramboll Road Survey Technology (RST) is a business area within the Ramboll Group. Ramboll RST has the most extensive system resources for measuring and collecting information about roads, cargo areas, ports and airports in the Nordic region and provides solutions that enable society to preserve and develop assets for the infrastructure efficiently and sustainably.

With experts within operation and maintenance throughout the chain, RST develops and sells state-of-the-art equipment for data collection of the functions of roads and road markings and provides unique software applications to analyse the collected information.