History

1985

Mr Harry Basedow (Dipl.Ing.) is both the proprietor and Managing Director of IB&T GmbH, having created the software system CARD/1 in 1985. Right from the start CARD/1 stood out with its road planning modules and powerful cross-section designer. Since then, CARD/1 has been continually expanded and perfected.

1989 - 1993

In 1989 IB&T presented the first graphic vertical alignment designer, closely followed by the introduction of the graphic-interactive alignment designer – a revolutionary new development on the German market.

The new rail modules and ground-breaking graphic-interactive switch calculation were first launched at the CeBIT trade fair in 1992. Ever since then IB&T has maintained its position as market leader in rail planning software and since 2000, the CARD/1 network adjustment has been certified by Deutsche Bahn AG (German Federal Railways). This has enabled all engineering offices to use CARD/1 for exact evaluation of track geometry surveying for the German Federal Railways.

A further two areas of application were introduced in 1993, when the newly-developed sewer modules and hybrid data processing were integrated into CARD/1.

1994 - 1999

In order to satisfy the needs of the growing market, IB&T relocated to its own office building in Norderstedt, near Hamburg, in 1995. This was the ideal location from which to co-ordinate all activities in the German market. It's clear from Head Office's attractive architecture that transparency and openness are extremely important. The same can be said for IB&T's relationships to customers, partners and staff.

IB&T has been present in China since 1994, providing the local planning institutes with a flexible, adaptable tool with which large-scale projects in particular can be dealt with in their entirety using the CARD/1 Chinese version. The next step came in 1998, when a local IB&T office was set up in Xi'an. Then came quite a coup: a Chinese planning institute chose to plan the world's first commercial Maglev route using the CARD/1 Chinese version, thus setting a significant milestone in IB&T's history.

2000 - 2001

In 2001 the local office was turned into a wholly-owned subsidiary, now known as Xi'an CARD/1 Software Co., Ltd.

IB&T gained additional specialist knowledge when it took over GEO DIGITAL GmbH of Düsseldorf in the year 2000. Since 1983 GEO DIGITAL has produced individual comprehensive solutions for geodesy and planning track-bound transport systems. Their new kinematic surveying and evaluation system GEOPAC-Kiss, jointly developed by GEO DIGITAL and the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich, has opened up new synergies in surveying, data logging and data processing.

In 2001 IB&T introduced CARD/1 eView, an innovative new product designed to present, document, archive and distribute planning projects. This means the documents of any one planning project are all combined into a single homogenous, digital information platform, available to any observer in a digital form. Experience shows that paperless digital planning folders are the future of information management.

2002 - 2004

IB&T has released numerous modules which make project work with CARD/1 even easier and more efficient. Calculating sight distances, presenting planning results in 3D using driving simulations or redesigning existing roads using the road surface optimization module are such examples, as are reconstructing surveyed roads/rail routes using the automatic alignment module or using the graphic fieldbook designed especially for surveying in the field.

IB&T specializes in 2004 in 3D data mapping of traffic routes, allowing users to log road and rail route data economically with their unique, powerful technology. Without any contact, traffic routes can be logged while driving at speeds of up to 100km/h.  Road and rail alignments, carriageway lanes and carriageway lane edges, vertical alignments, cross-sections, surface models, clearance spaces and information on traffic route condition can then be derived from this digital data using CARD/1.

2005 - 2007

The latest addition to the IB&T group is RZI Software GmbH, which joined in 2005. Based in Nuremberg, RZI is extremely successful in the areas of CAD and GIS, and has developed modular comprehensive solutions covering every area of civil engineering. Their CAD application CARD/1 for AutoCAD is an excellent addition to CARD/1 as it can deal with any civil engineering or infrastructure-related task.

With the release of Version 8.0, IB&T has launched a new generation of software onto the market – innovative, with a modern, easy-to-use user interface, MDI technology, object-oriented project work and dynamic data updates. This is software which is purpose-designed for the particular tasks demanded of civil engineering.

Today

With over 5,400 users, CARD/1 is one of the most widely used applications for civil engineering, surveying and planning in Germany today. IB&T is a member of the Road and Transportation Research Association (FGSV) and is heavily involved in the FGSV's Working Committee 9.7 'Fundamental Issues in Data Processing'.

From the word go, CARD/1 has also had many devotees beyond Germany, as evidenced by the popularity of the English, Chinese, Polish and Russian versions of CARD/1. Today IB&T looks back on such international success with pride, and yet knows that it is but the base upon which future challenges will be met.