Bauhaus.MobilityLab Represents Thuringia at the World’s Largest Congress for Smart Mobility and Networked Transport
The test flight of a cargo drone or the use of a virtual guide dog: the latest research findings were presented, technical developments shown and the conditions of science that make the use of such technology possible in reality discussed at this year’s ITS World Congress. The Bauhaus.MobilityLab at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, which represented the state of Thuringia this year, also took part in the world’s most important conference and trade fair for the mobility of the future. Together with the Thuringian Ministry for Infrastructure and Agriculture (TMIL), scientists from Bauhaus-Universität Weimar discussed the need for living labs and traffic pilot schemes in transport research on the ITS Germany stage.
The space on inner-city streets is limited and often leads to competition between users, which is detrimental to road safety. Due to the high accident rates and countless critical situations for cyclists and pedestrians in Erfurt, the city resolved to pilot a new traffic layout on Talstraße. This involved repurposing the existing space for a limited period of time – and improving the conditions for cyclists and pedestrians in the process, without obstructing motor vehicle traffic. This experiment supported by the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is an example of a traffic pilot scheme that is greatly beneficial to both science and traffic planning. The state of Thuringia supports such projects, as they offer added value for the city’s citizens in addition to scientific findings.
»Pilot schemes like this are of special interest to us,« says Michael Flore, who heads the responsible division at the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture (TMIL), during a discussion at the ITS World Congress. »When we see the transport transition as an engine and mobility transition, new ideas and approaches are required.« Experimentation clauses that allow such time-limited experiments are helpful here. Flore advocated reviewing the need for additional experimentation clauses during the discussion with the Bauhaus.MobilityLab. He also spoke with representatives from the Chair of Transport System Planning and the Bauhaus.MobilityLab about living labs as places for experimentation.
»As a living lab with various partners from science, business and politics, the Bauhaus.MobilityLab offers an ideal platform for new types of cooperation beyond institutional boundaries. And thus also for experiments,« explains Raimo Harder, who is a research associate within the Chair of Transport System Planning at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. The TMIL already supported the project during the application phase. By building a digital laboratory platform where AI technologies are combined with data, companies and municipalities cooperate, and researchers meet users, sustainable innovations can be developed in the Bauhaus.MobilityLab. The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) until 2023 with a double-digit million-euro sum as part of the innovation competition »Artificial Intelligence as a Driver of Economically Relevant Ecosystems«.
The discussion between the TMIL and the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar took place on the Germany stage at the ITS World Congress. In 2021, this annual conference and trade show was held in Hamburg on 11–15 October. 13,000 scientists, entrepreneurs and politicians from around the world attended.