Students working on Rijkswaterstaat’s InnovA58 project visited the service area beside the A58 where the innovations they visualise in their digital twin are being tested.
Marloes Joosstens and Lars Koning from Leiden University of Applied Sciences began their GameLab projects in September. So far, they have mainly been researching. Visiting the focus of that research was therefore a welcome change: the service area between Oirschot and Best alongside the A58, where Rijkswaterstaat’s innovations are installed.
Marloes: “It was enjoyable and interesting. There was a lot of information; some we already knew, some we did not. It was also a good example of how much information there is that you would never know unless someone told you.”
More innovations were displayed in an old farmhouse nearby, designed to address the water challenges caused by climate change. For local farmers, this is already a very real problem. Sometimes enormous amounts of rainfall leave them with surplus water; at other times there is drought. By collecting and purifying water from motorways, Rijkswaterstaat aims to prepare for the future.
This field trip helped Marloes and Lars understand the significance of the viewer they are developing and why it is important to make it understandable to local residents and policymakers.
