International Road Dynamics Inc. is a road traffic management system engineering company headquartered in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Its services include automated toll roads, commercial vehicle inspection systems, traffic data collection products, and traffic management software.
IRD provides
weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems that are capable of weighing vehicles while in motion and classifying them by axle spacings and speed. Information recorded includes individual axle weights, group axle weights, and
gross vehicle weight (GVW). IRD's weigh-in-motion systems are used at
highway inspection stations to sort vehicles, ensuring only overweight vehicles are stopped for inspection. This reduces wait times and improves
traffic flow
In transportation engineering, traffic flow is the study of interactions between travellers (including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and their vehicles) and infrastructure (including highways, signage, and traffic control devices), with the ai ...
at weigh stations. IRD's WIM systems are also used by fleet managers to ensure vehicles are leaving terminals within the acceptable weight limits for their classification.
IRD is a subsidiary of
Quarterhill, an Ottawa-based patent licensing company.
History
Dr. Art Bergan, a world-renowned civil engineer in the transportation field, established IRD in the late 1970s. IRD's first product was weigh-in-motion scales.
By the mid-1990s, IRD had become established as a major player in the international
Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) market. In 1995 IRD installed the world's first dynamic truck speed warning system for the Colorado Department of Transportation. Developed for the freeway west of the
Eisenhower tunnel
The Eisenhower Tunnel, officially the Eisenhower–Edwin C. Johnson Memorial Tunnel, is a dual-bore, four-lane vehicular tunnel in the western United States, approximately west of Denver, Colorado. The tunnel carries Interstate 70 (I-70) under ...
, the system incorporated sensors and an automatic scale to weigh and classify trucks. An algorithm was used to estimate the maximum safe speed for the vehicle as it approached the descent into the canyon. The speed was then displayed on a variable message sign accompanied by flashing lights.
IRD South Asia Private Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of IRD that was established in 2000 and specializes in toll collection systems. , IRDSA employs 160 people and has a 54-per-cent share of India's toll business. Company offerings include manual systems,
smart card
A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...
systems, and
transponder
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...
systems. These systems include proprietary weigh-in-motion technology designed to help
concessionaires reduce road-damage and revenue losses. IRDSA also manages data-collection services in cooperation with the
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
IRD acquired the Germany-based PAT Traffic in 2003. By 2009, IRD had installed 10,000 IRD-PAT Bending Plate Scale weigh-in-motion systems.
In 2007, IRD acquired a 50% interest in Xuzhou-PAT Control Technologies Limited (XCPT), an Intelligent Transportation Systems company located in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China. XPCT had distributed IRD's products in China since 2003. IRD's joint venture in China provides toll road systems, traffic monitoring, and maintenance.
In 2017, IRD was acquired by
WiLAN (subsequently re-named Quarterhill) for $63.5 million.
IRD appointed Rish Malhotra as its President and CEO in 2020 as part of a planned leadership succession process.
In 2021, IRD acquired a 100% interest in the German companies Sensor Line GmbH and VDS GmbH and subsequently setup IRD Europe GmbH to integrate three European acquisitions and grow its business in Europe.
References
External links
*
IRD South Asia websiteXPCT website
{{Saskatoon Corporations
Software companies of Canada
Companies based in Saskatoon
Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
2017 mergers and acquisitions
Software companies established in 1980
Companies established in 1980