Research project aZuR

19.06.2023 - Together with experts from Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences in Salzgitter, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences and the company XenomatiX, based in Leuven, Belgium, a research team from RheinMain University of Applied Sciences (HSRM) is developing a standardized recording and evaluation system for cycle paths. The project aZuR (automated condition assessment of cycle path infrastructure) is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) with around 500,000 euros as part of the mFUND innovation initiative.

Despite established systems for recording and assessing the condition of roads, there is still little or incomplete information available on the quality and condition of cycle paths in the non-urban network. A standardized recording and assessment of the condition has not yet been established here, even though these paths can be particularly attractive for commuters on the periphery between rural areas and urban areas as well as for leisure and tourist cycling.

Against this background, the aZuR project is compiling the requirements for a condition survey and assessment tailored to the needs of cycling and deriving the condition criteria to be surveyed from this. The condition, design and surroundings of selected out-of-town cycle paths in the Saarland project area will be recorded using LiDAR technology (three-dimensional laser scanning) and cameras in a measuring vehicle. Based on this data, an automated evaluation process and a new evaluation scheme for different types of bicycles will then be developed. "The evaluation process can be used to examine paths intended for cycling in a comparable way in order to derive priorities for structural maintenance and the targeted use of financial resources to improve cycling infrastructure, for example," explains project manager Prof. Dr. Martina Lohmeier from the Mobility Management department at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden.

Survey complements measurements

The test routes will be selected in collaboration with the Saarland State Road Construction Agency and will be driven along this spring with the equipped measuring vehicle. At the same time, Ostfalia University is conducting a survey to find out how cyclists rate the quality of roads outside urban areas and what is particularly important to them.

The project results are not only relevant for the planning and prioritization of measures for road authorities such as the State Road Construction Agency, but can also be used, for example, for bicycle type-specific routing. "Our common goal is to automate the recording and evaluation of out-of-town cycling infrastructure," says Prof. Dr. Lohmeier. "To do this, we want to systematically record the existing infrastructure, assess its condition and compare it with the requirements of users in order to create basics for the future maintenance and renewal strategy."

About the BMDV's mFUND

As part of the mFUND innovation initiative, the BMDV has been funding data-based research and development projects for the digital and connected mobility of the future since 2016. The project funding is supplemented by active professional networking between players from politics, business, administration and research and by the provision of open data on the Mobilithek. Further information can be found at www.mFUND.de.