From Frustration to Foundation
Ten years ago, Paul Potters and co-founder Menno Malta of Monotch saw that the sharing of traffic data was completely stuck. Governments, car manufacturers, and suppliers were, quite literally, speaking different languages. “The willingness to cooperate and modernize was there, but the world of traffic systems was trapped in outdated technology,” Potters explains. “We found ourselves in endless meetings where everyone defended their own standards. At some point, we realized we had to stop talking and start building.”
Potters has spent his entire career in the world of mobility and ICT, working on travel information, road pricing, and various forms of traffic management. “The intention to innovate was always present, but progress was slow,” he says. “Everyone recognized that the future would be digital, yet in practice, the sector remained stuck in legacy systems. We decided that if we truly wanted to change things, we had to do it ourselves.”
That decision led to the founding of Monotch, with a clear mission: to ensure that traffic data is shared as professionally, securely, and reliably as financial information at Bloomberg or news at Reuters. Under the motto “We Make Traffic Talk,” Potters and Malta developed TLEX (Traffic Live Exchange) - a platform that connects vehicles, traffic lights, road users, apps, and road authorities in real time.
“Mobility isn’t a one-way street,” says Potters. “It’s a conversation. Every traffic light and every vehicle communicates what it’s doing so others can respond. That makes the system smarter, safer, and more sustainable.”
The idea proved both powerful and scalable. Monotch’s Smart Mobility Platform now operates nationwide in the Netherlands, as well as in Belgium and parts of Scandinavia. In the Netherlands, Monotch’s technology previously formed the backbone of Talking Traffic, the program that enabled connected traffic lights and vehicles, an experience that now underpins DITM.
“Ambulances automatically get a green light, and advisory speeds are adjusted in real time to match conditions.”
A Laboratory for Innovation
With the launch of the DITM program, a RAI Automotive Industry NL and Brainport Development initiative co-funded by the National Growth Fund, Monotch is taking the next step in its evolution. DITM focuses on building the digital infrastructure for the future of mobility. “What’s unique about this project,” says Potters, “is that it creates an environment where we can truly experiment. We’re working with like-minded partners who understand what the digitalization of mobility requires. And you’re allowed to fail here - that’s essential for innovation.”
Within Work Package 4, which focuses on developing reliable and up-to-date digital infrastructure for automated transport, safe navigation, and future mobility applications, Monotch is working on a new type of data connection: the Federation Block within its TLEX platform. This federative layer enables secure, real-time data exchange between different ecosystems, countries, and organizations.
“For example, it allows a German driver traveling in the Netherlands to keep using their own app, navigation, and dashboard,” Potters explains. “The systems communicate with each other without anyone having to hand over their data. That’s the future of European mobility.”
Such collaboration is made possible through DITM. “We’re doing this together with partners like TNO, Siemens, TomTom, and V-tron,” says Potters. “Each brings their own expertise and perspective to the table. That makes the conversation richer and the solutions stronger.”
“We’ve proven that you don’t need to build one large European system. That’s a real game-changer.”
Technology That Works
While many innovation projects remain stuck at the pilot stage, Monotch’s technology has already proven itself in practice. Every traffic light in the Netherlands communicates up to ten times per second with the platform, and millions of vehicles continuously transmit their status in real time. “This is no longer an experiment,” says Potters. “It’s running nationally. That’s our biggest proof of success.”
This infrastructure enables countless applications. “Ambulances automatically get a green light, freight traffic moves more smoothly through cities thanks to smart traffic control, and advisory speeds are adjusted in real time to match conditions. When there’s fog or an incident, we can alert all vehicles in a given area simultaneously. That dramatically improves safety,” Potter's explains.
Another example is Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), a system that provides vehicles with automatic speed advice based on current conditions. “Within DITM, we’re using ISA as a test case to explore how data can be shared between systems,” says Potters. “It shows how we can manage data quality and timing within federations, and it works.”
Federating Without Borders
According to Potters, the greatest breakthrough within DITM lies in data federation - the technology and governance that make it possible to interconnect networks without centralizing data. “We’ve shown that you don’t need to build one giant European system,” he says. “You can connect smaller, autonomous systems like Lego bricks. Each country or organization remains the owner of its own data, but through federation, they can collaborate in real time. That’s a true game-changer.”
Together with its partners, Monotch developed the underlying governance, quality, and security framework within DITM. “It’s not just about technology,” Potter's emphasizes. “You need to know who has access, who is authorized, and whether the data is trustworthy. We’ve now put all that in place.”
This approach also aligns with the Mobility Data Spaces emerging across Europe. In fact, TLEX already functions as a working example of such a federative network, built using the Key Enabling Technologies prioritized by the EU: AI, 5G, and Cloud/Edge computing.
“One traffic fatality costs society around three million euros. If these systems help us move closer to zero traffic deaths, that’s priceless.”
The Netherlands as a Testing Ground for Europe
With the results of DITM in hand, Monotch is looking ahead. The technology is already being applied in Flanders and Scandinavia, with new international projects in preparation. “DITM is a springboard,” says Potters. “The knowledge we gain here travels with us into international collaborations. It has brought us another step forward - we can now demonstrate that this works on an international scale.”
The Brainport region remains the perfect environment for Monotch to grow. “Here, you work with partners who truly understand what’s needed. That makes innovation fast and concrete,” Potters explains. “In Brussels, it can take a year before everyone agrees. Here, you can act quickly, experiment, and continue developing.”
The next step is to expand the federative layer into other domains such as logistics, apps, and smart access. “Once bicycles, trucks, and barriers are also part of the network, you get a digital backbone for mobility. That’s where we’re heading.”
Impact: Societal Gains and Economic Strength
The impact of DITM is both visible and measurable: less congestion, fewer emissions, improved safety, and enhanced liveability. But it also delivers a stronger economic position for the Netherlands in the rapidly growing European market for smart mobility. In the predecessor to DITM, Talking Traffic, results showed that 60 to 90 percent of road users follow advisory speeds when they trust the system - a direct gain in safety. Ambulances reach their destinations 10 percent faster thanks to traffic light prioritization, while freight traffic moves more smoothly and with lower emissions due to smarter traffic management.
These effects translate into tangible social and economic benefits. “One road fatality costs society about three million euros,” Potters calculates. “If these systems help us contribute to Vision Zero, zero road fatalities - that’s priceless. And at the same time, we’re building an export product that attracts global interest.”
Within DITM, public and private interests come together in one shared ecosystem. “It’s no longer a top-down program,” says Potters. “Everyone contributes their own expertise, which leads to unexpected combinations. For example, with VDL Groep, which is working on autonomous shuttles, we only discovered through DITM that we could use each other’s data.”
That kind of collaboration is what makes Brainport so strong: knowledge institutions, businesses, and government working together within one ecosystem. “It’s mature innovation,” Potter concludes. “We’re no longer a startup experimenting in a lab. We’re building systems that truly benefit society.”
The Next Step in Connected Mobility
After nearly ten years of development and collaboration within DITM, Monotch’s vision has become reality: a data layer that connects cities, infrastructure, vehicles, and road users.
“The greatest achievement,” Potter says, “is that we’ve shown mobility no longer needs to operate in silos. We’ve developed a language that allows traffic to truly talk to each other. And that conversation - it won’t stop. It will only get smarter.”
