Traffic Data

Sights on Improving Travel Planning

In Saxony-Anhalt, the “ifak” is also occupying itself with the road traffic of the future. The “Institute for Automation and Communication” is carrying out research in many directions in this field and offering practical solutions. For years, “ifak” has for example been bundling mobility and traffic information from Saxony-Anhalt’s roads in a digital service. On the platform “ifc”, current construction sites, diversions, and parking information in the region are summarised. With the ongoing research project “PAMIR”, the institute, which is based in Magdeburg, would also like to make it easier to find parking spaces in urban areas. For this, a sensor is to be used to determine in real time how full parking areas are. The aim of this “parking area occupancy information” is more realistic and reliable travel planning. “This could, among other things, help with the linking of passenger cars with other means of transport, and thus simplify inter-modal transport operations in the changeover processes”, explains Business Unit Manager Professor Hartmut Zadek.

Galileo Test Field

Galileo-Test Field Saxony-Anhalt - Applied Traffic Research in Saxony-Anhalt

The potentials of the European or American satellite navigation systems such as GPS, Galileo, GLONASS in combination with terrestrial tracking, navigation, and communication systems are the basis of a broad field of research in Saxony-Anhalt. The Galileo Test Field of Saxony-Anhalt of Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg is working out application-oriented solutions for future mobility and logistics in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF, the ifak Institute for Automation and Communication e.V., the Hallesche Verkehrs-AG and Satellite Navigation Saxony-Anhalt e.V.. In particular, the expansion of the digital infrastructure will accelerate the digitalisation of mobility and of applied traffic research, and open up innovative potentials for flexibility, automation and networking. The Galileo Test Field Saxony-Anhalt as an innovation centre for digital infrastructure, mobility, and logistics, the infrastructure of which covers the cities of Magdeburg and Halle (Saale), offers the best conditions for the development and testing of communication solutions in transport and logistics, both at test level under laboratory conditions and in real transport. In addition, the MOSAIQUE test field in Halle (Saale) is available with tried and tested hardware and software for modern traffic management. For this purpose, a tram was equipped with a data acquisition system, which possesses a highly accurate GNSS satellite receiver and sensitive sensors. Using these, a 3D route model and other information on the urban environment is acquired, saved in databases, and can be called via different communication channels.

Due to the intelligent linking of the infrastructure that can be used in the test fields and their connection to modern simulation technologies, good conditions exist for the researching and development of reliable, intelligent traffic management systems.

Route Optimisation

Together with the Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, Stadtwerke Halle is optimising its system for waste disposal

In order to plan the routes of its waste vehicles so that they are even more efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective, and to implement them later, the Hallesche Stadtwerke (SWH) has been collaborating with the Merseburg University of Applied Sciences since 2016. The project is called “Synchronisation of Route Plans”.  Professor Dirk Sackmann from the university explains: By means of a programme, all street sections to be served are examined and optimised. The right streets are added to a route or removed where necessary. The programme uses all known limits such as the maximal capacity of the car and the available time. “Route planning is thus handed in under five minutes – an enormous gain in time. In addition, the capacity utilisations of the routes are now substantially more balanced”, says Professor Sackmann.

This way, the individual routes and the respective capacity utilisation of the waste trips can be ideally combined. Some waste vehicles have so far only been 75 percent full, and others have not been able to take nearly as much as they should have.

The E-Cargobike for the Towns and Cities of the Future

Bicycle manufacturer Sachsenring Bike GmbH of Saxony-Anhalt builds alternative transport systems.

The trend towards the e-bike continues unabated, with forecasts predicting a market share of 50 percent within the next ten years. In Sangerhausen in Saxony-Anhalt, bicycle manufacturer Sachsenring Bike is focusing on own brand development. In cooperation with local research institutes and other cooperation partners, new models are currently being developed in a variety of projects, the production of which is scheduled to start in late summer. Right now, however, how things will ultimately roll remains subject to secrecy.

Electric mobility has a long history. As long ago as 1899 there was an electric car that drove at an incredible 105 kilometres per hour. Up to 40 percent of the cars on American roads were electrically powered; more than 500 models are said to have existed worldwide. Over the years, however, the combustion engine gained acceptance – the consequences of which are clear today. According to the Federal Statistical Office, in the year 2017, in Germany alone, car traffic polluted the environment with some 115 million tonnes of CO2. That was six percent more than in 2010.

The air is especially stuffy in our towns and cities, which are responsible for almost 80 percent of all CO2 emissions. This shouldn’t be surprising, as urbanisation is constantly on the increase. Currently, almost 78 percent of people in Germany live in cities, a figure which is expected to increase to almost 85 percent by 2050. The consequences are an increase in the movement of people and goods, driven by the booming business on the Internet.

An upheaval in the world of traffic and transport seems unavoidable, and not only in car traffic. And something is happening: electrically powered bicycles have been causing sales figures to rise sharply for a number of years, with last year's increase in sales amounting to 38 percent compared with the previous year. The market share of e-bikes in Germany is currently 23.5 percent.

Experience with cargo bikes

Sachsenring Bike Manufaktur GmbH of Sangerhausen in Central Germany has also recognised the sign of the times. Its focus is clearly on the manufacturing of e-bikes. Managing Director of Sachsenring Bike Stefan Zubcic sees the potential to double or quadruple the sales of the electrically powered cargo bike. They already have experience with Cargobikes, says Stefan Zubcic: "This is an old business for us, we've been making the delivery bikes for the German postal service for ten years." Five models of cargo bike are assembled at the workshop in Sangerhausen, central Germany, three of which are electrically powered. In cooperation with local research institutes and other cooperation partners, new models are currently being developed in a variety of projects, the production of which is scheduled to start in late summer. "The demand for user-friendly and robust E-Cargobikes is constantly increasing. We are currently looking for partners – logistics service providers such as freight forwarders, for example," says Stefan Zubcic. The use of the bikes in handicraft businesses is also an aspiration, however. "One outcome could be a combination of car and bike." The advantages are obvious: "No more looking for parking spaces, short distances, ease of use, benefits to health."

A possible load of up to 900 kilograms

The parameters of the Sachsenring Bike models are, in fact, of interest for commercial use. The electric motor supports a speed of up to 25 kilometres per hour, the cargo volume varies according to the intended use and corresponding structure, the load starts at 50 kilograms, reaching a loading capacity of up to 900 kilograms staggered over several platforms. The range of the bikes depends, among others, on a variety of influencing factors such as the load, the chosen level of support, whether the travel is uphill or downhill, or the ambient temperature.

In the run-up to the planned further development of the E-Cargobikes, the company conducted a customer survey which revealed which parameters take priority when using the bikes: stability, which in this case means an operating time for the vehicle of six to eight years; an ideal transport volume between 1.5 and 1.8 cubic metres; an efficient operation including the accessibility of the load; weather protection for the driver; attractive prices as well as a spare parts service and the robustness of the bike. The Cargobikes of tomorrow, explains Stefan Zubcic, are precisely customised to the requirements of the customers and offer more comfort. The design of the bikes has also been updated.

Numerous suppliers of E-Cargobikes are now on the market, but Sachsenring Bike-Manufaktur has a key advantage over them, as pointed out by Stefan Zubcic: "We have the ideas and the know-how!" The planning, manufacturing, direct sales, delivery, after-sales service and leasing solutions all come from one single source.

An increasing market share

The market figures prove that the strategy of the company from Saxony-Anhalt is right. According to the German Bike Association (ZIV), some 980,000 e-bikes were sold in Germany in 2018, a 36 percent increase! Sales of electrically powered Cargobikes increased, achieving a market share of four percent compared with 2017. That corresponds to almost 40,000 units. According to the ZIV, a greater shift from car traffic towards bicycles and e-bikes in urban areas could reduce pollution in towns and cities, even without bans on diesel vehicles. According to a study by the European Cyclelogistics project, 51 percent of all motorised transport in European cities could move over to bicycles.

Author: Anja Falgowski

Carsharing

Smart City - NTT DATA and GISA offer highly available car-sharing

Together with NTT DATA Deutschland, the IT service provider GISA from Halle (Saale) is developing an efficient and highly available car-sharing solution.

The solution meets the highest safety standards and nevertheless allows vehicles – from individual vehicles to entire fleets – to be converted into car-sharing vehicles in the shortest time with only a few technical interventions. Thus, regional providers and public utilities become mobility providers without a great deal of effort.

“With the intelligent car-sharing solution (iCS) from NTT DATA, companies, municipalities and energy suppliers are enabled to offer it under their own label,” explains Ragnar Wachter, Head of Industry Telecommunication, Utilities, Services & Logistics at NTT DATA Deutschland. “iCS works with conventional vehicles; however, it is also designed for electric vehicles.” The IT system allows all conceivable variants: opening up sharing to a small group of people such as colleagues, a somewhat larger community such as all the customers of a public utility, but also large networks.

Dirk Kindgen, Senior Solution Partner and an expert in “urban & intelligent mobility concepts” at NTT DATA Deutschland, says: “With iCS, the capacity utilisation of individual vehicles is increased on the one hand, while on the other hand a system is established for the flexible use of a wide variety of vehicles.”

GISA is the system partner of NTT DATA for project and operations. With its own multiply certified data centre, it ensures maximum security and availability of the systems – without providers or users having to think about this. GISA’s data centre association is ISO 27001-certified by the Federal Office for Information Security in accordance with the IT baseline protection handbook.

Source: www.gisa.de

Park Trucks Safely

Online Platform „Park Your Truck“

In March, the time had finally arrived: The online platform “Park Your Truck” has gone online. Denise Schuster has been working on this for a long time. After 18 years, the founder of the company “Unser Parkplatz” has returned from Bavaria to her home city of Dessau for the implementation of her vision and has opened a branch in the transfer and founders’ centre. The choice of location was no coincidence; in addition to personal reasons, the founder from Dessau was also attracted by the “super selection of top employees”. “We want to solve an enormous problem, which has become more severe”, says Denise Schuster. There is a lack of parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles on the motorways. The managing director knows: “Drivers often need many attempts to find a parking space for the required rest periods.” This not only costs an enormous amount of fuel, because vehicles weighing several tons have to brake and start again, but also decreases the driving time. If this is exceeded, a fine is imposed. This is why trucks are frequently to be found dangerously parked at entrances or exits, on hard shoulders, or in residential areas or business parks close to motorways. The managing director and her team have developed a technology that enables the forwarder to reserve a parking space for the driver. “We need alternative areas for this”, says Denise Schuster. They are searching for these all over Germany. They are interested in acquiring anything that can be a safe parking space: Truckstops, trade fair and coach parking spaces, parking spaces at stadiums, airports, filling stations or even the small service parking space next to a workshop. Around 90 parking areas are now listed with “Park Your Truck”. And there are plans for many more.

Expansion Course in Europe

Denise Schuster sees the target group for her mobility service as being primarily the forwarders, who can reserve the spaces for their drivers very simply. The company has programmed the software itself. Lots of money, know-how and experience, and sound data from polls and surveys have been incorporated. It is simple to use: When a forwarder registers, it is first of all checked. It then receives its access data. With this, it can log in at any time and book a particular parking space for the desired time – almost like booking a hotel room. The driver receives the data via a mobile radio number and activates the parking space, which has been kept free. “We have high safety components built into our software, but keep everything very transparent for drivers, dispatchers and parking space operators”, explains Denise Schuster. The concept is increasingly also convincing top forwarders. This company from Saxony-Anhalt is on an expansion course in Western European countries. “In the next quarters we want to also offer parking spaces abroad”, says Denise Schuster

Bosch Secure Parking

Safety for Drivers, Freight and Plans

Years ago, “Bosch” had already taken up the cause of offering truckers and their loads safe parking spaces on their tours. “We now have a somewhat more complex understanding of the term safety”, says Dr. Jan-Philipp Weers, Director of “Bosch Secure Truck Parking”. In addition to the safety of the driver and load, which is ensured by video surveillance and barriers on the park areas, planning certainty is also among the main aspects of the further developed service. What started off in 2014 in Saxony-Anhalt at a truck stop in Hohenwarsleben has developed into a major service. “Apart from truck stops, we also give companies the opportunity to offer their own HGV parking spaces for booking”, explains Dr. Jan-Philipp Weers. With the “Bosch” service, spaces are being drawn upon that would be there anyway – at forwarders, for example – in the framework of a sharing economy approach. This means that new spaces do not have to be built at all.

The system is controlled via an internet platform, upon which the dispatchers reserve the required parking space, the driver is informed via an app. When the HGV drives onto the area, the barriers open, and settlement is cashless and accurate to the minute. With this service, logistics becomes more efficient, the securing of the freight and driver is ensured, and protection of the environment is taken seriously, because no green area has to be asphalted over, emphasises Dr. Philipp Weers.

Securing Right of Way for Rescue Vehicles

ifak "Institut für Automation und Kommunikation" - Securing Right of Way for Rescue Vehicles

Together with partners, the “ifak” would also like to make it easier for security and rescue vehicles to drive quickly to the scenes of emergencies in the near future. “Rescuers often do not make swift headway in German cities, although they above all people have to be fast”, says Professor Zadek. “Ifak” employees from the fields of IT, communication technologies, and automation are cooperating with experts on transport and assistance to improve this situation. The system is being tested in Saxony-Anhalt’s capital Magdeburg and in Brunswick in Lower Saxony. The improvement of route planning for rescuers is to be achieved above all with a combination of instruments, including a navigation system especially for emergency vehicles. In parallel with this, the project consortium is working on a programme for traffic lights with which the police and fire brigades can request “green” when in action. “Traffic is being increasingly automated. This will enable the police and fire brigades to be a few tail-lengths ahead of the stream of passenger carson German roads”, says Professor Hartmut Zadek.

Mobility Services are business models of the future. They not only ensure that motorists and professional drivers save time, but also that resources are saved, and that traffic in urban areas is reduced. There is a lot in motion in this field in Saxony-Anhalt.