Kapsch TrafficCom has been awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award 2014 for the innovative design of its Kapsch NEXT transponder and communication device for toll collection applications.
Designed for windshield mounting, Kapsch NEXT is one of the smallest and lightest on-board units in the world; Kapsch claims it is 500 per cent smaller than other CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) OBUs on the market, with its environmental footprint 50 per cent lower than previous models.
Fully tested in demanding applications such as high speed multi-lane free-flow applications, as well as slow congested traffic, NEXT complies with CEN DSRC/EFC/AVI standards, as well as interoperability specifications and standards. In addition to tolling, NEXT fully supports other applications, including road user charging, automatic vehicle identification, parking and access control.
The unit’s slim design makes it easy to install and, if permitted by the issuer, it can be used in more than one vehicle.
The Red Dot Design Award is an internationally renowned quality seal for product design, awarded by an independent jury of experts and presented annually by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany. A panel of 40 international experts from 53 countries evaluated 4,815 entries for the 2014 awards. The design quality and functionality of Kapsch NEXT convinced the panel to award it the award for Product Design 2014.
“It’s a great honour to receive this award,” says Niklas Fungbrandt, product manager, Kapsch TrafficCom. “With Kapsch NEXT we created a new generation on-board unit, combining improved performance, reliability and design quality. It is developed for the intelligent transportation systems of today and tomorrow.” on-board units by Kapsch enable modern urban traffic management like access control and road user charging. These are regarded worldwide as highly effective tools contributing to lower congestion and reducing harmful emissions as well as noise pollution.
“The Red Dot Award recognises and reflects the high quality of our solutions. We are very pleased having passed the test in front of the critical eyes of the experts and see this as a visual proof of our company philosophy: always one step ahead. Striving for global quality and innovation leadership in the rapidly growing market of intelligent transportation systems (ITS), we are always the decisive step ahead,“ says André Laux, executive board member of Kapsch TrafficCom.
