They are ubiquitous, the yellow traffic light buttons that make crossing the street safer, even for people without sight.

They are manufactured by RTB GmbH & Co. KG from Bad Lippspringe near Paderborn;

the company has been developing road traffic solutions since 1993.

It all started with the idea of ​​an ultrasound device for the blind, reports Managing Director Rudolf Broer.

He was a therapist who treated blind people so that they could act independently again in everyday life.

"That's why I'm particularly good at empathizing with blind people, how they move and what they need."

The yellow traffic light buttons are now not only in Germany, but according to RTB in more than 40 countries, for example in Hong Kong, where tens of thousands of masts have been equipped with buttons and acoustics for the blind.

90 percent of traffic light buttons are capacitive.

This means that the traffic light can be switched with a touch.

Very small currents flow down over the person through the contact, so that the resistance in the button changes;

the button recognizes that someone wants to cross the street.

The buttons should last 15 to 20 years.

The first contactless button

According to the company, with its 140 employees and 25 trainees, it has a market share in Germany of around 60 percent.

"The traffic light button market should be in the low five-digit number range," says Broer.

The biggest competitors are Stührenberg, Langmatz and Urich Mobility.

An example of an RTB innovation is the first European contactless push button.

Especially in the Corona period, the demand for the contactless button increased “very strongly”, says Broer.

The black button contains a radar that detects pedestrians at a distance of ten to 70 centimetres, depending on the setting.

In addition to the test site in Düsseldorf, there are hundreds of radar sensors in more than thirty municipalities, says Broer.

The price of the traffic light button depends on the electronics.

With complex technology, they can cost around 300 euros.

"Buttons that are just buttons start at around 100 euros." The contactless traffic light button costs 100 euros more than the traditional product.

App warns of electric vehicles

RTB has developed the search app LOC.id.

According to Broer, it makes it safer for visually impaired people to drive on the road: the traffic lights make the acoustic system click louder when a user approaches.

The app is also intended to warn users when quiet electric vehicles are approaching.

In addition to traffic light buttons and acoustics, RTB is active in traffic counting, speed and noise reduction, the e-mobility charging infrastructure and when parking in single space recording and entry counting.

Customers are companies as well as countries and municipalities.

The export rate is 35 percent.

According to the managing director, sales in 2021 were 18 million euros, 5.5 percent higher than in the previous year.

The article comes from the student project "Youth and Business", which the FAZ organizes together with the Association of German Banks.