Our working method
As NDW, we collect, combine and distribute real-time data about the road situation.
Real time systems
Think of information about, for example, traffic intensity, average speed, road works and traffic jams. We have developed various applications for this data, such as the NCIS (data delivery), Melvin (reporting and coordinating road works), NDW Viewer (graphical presentation of NDW data) and CBM (creating and managing configuration files).
BIG-data
We have set up a big data environment in the cloud to make it easier to consult large data sets.
This is urgently needed, because every day literally terabytes of traffic data are added - and the number of types of (mobility-related) data continues to grow. In parallel, we work in the so-called NDW Big Data program on services to easily link, enrich and analyze all data.
Data quality
NDW is open and transparent about the quality of the data supplied - and we do everything we can to continue to improve that quality.
For example, we make clear quality agreements with all data suppliers and with the help of dashboards we also keep track of whether those agreements are met. Other quality measures include data validation tests, reference measurements and periodic checks of location features.
We share the results of our checks with our partners, suppliers and customers. If there is room for improvement, we will take immediate action.
Map & location
In order to interpret our data, it is important to display them correctly on a map.
However, "projecting" data on a map is a challenge in itself. One problem is that, because of "visual readability", a map is rarely really to scale. On road maps, for example, the roads are shown larger (wider) than they should be in that scale.
If we also want to link information to those roads, such as the location of a counting point, this quickly produces a distorted picture. Fortunately, NDW has a great deal of knowledge about linking data to maps. We always strike a good balance between truthful and useful.
Innovation & Advice
The world of mobility is innovating rapidly. NDW follows developments closely, but also innovates itself.
We do this within the NDW Data Science Society and in DiTTlab of Technical University in Delft. But we also participate in European ITS innovation projects, such as SOCRATES2.0.
This enables us to advise our partners on trends and developments, but also to take advantage of new (data) opportunities - vehicle data, bicycle displacement data, etc. - and to sharpen our view on traffic.
Networking
We actively participate in network events to increase the exchange of knowledge among data parties and to strengthen our (mobility) data chain.
We are present at consultations, symposia and conferences of partners, policymakers and network organizations and we give lectures and presentations.
From time to time we also organize a seminar or congress ourselves. We do this with the aim of broadly sharing our knowledge, experiences and research results.