New Mobility Lab for the Karlsruhe Region

City of Karlsruhe and „PTV Group” seal cooperation

The „Smart Mobility for the Karlsruhe Region” initiative is taking shape. End of January 2017, the City of Karlsruhe and „PTV Group” signed a cooperation agreement concerning the testing of future scenarios in a new, modern mobility lab. The goal is to establish a real-time traffic prediction system for the Karlsruhe Technology Region. This system will help enhance Karlsruhe as the leading Smart City in Germany and market it internationally.

Both sides welcome the joint creation of a new, attractive showcase for the Karlsruhe Technology Region. “We are currently setting up a laboratory at our headquarters that allows interested parties from around the world to experience first-hand innovative software solutions and new mobility concepts“, explains Vincent Kobesen, CEO of “PTV Group”. The company’s home town should now be the first to benefit from the new lab. New mobility scenarios created in cooperation with city representatives will be analysed, simulated and discussed using “PTV software”.

In summer 2016, “PTV” and Lord Mayor Dr. Frank Mentrup announced closer cooperation for the development of Smart Mobility. “The combination of our strengths in the field of intelligent mobility management provides the perfect environment for our flourishing city and Karlsruhe’s technology region to tackle the challenges associated with future mobility”, says the Lord Mayor of Karlsruhe.

Phase I of the Mobility Lab successfully completed

The implementation process is divided into three successive stages. Once the cooperation was confirmed by Mayor Mentrup, the project team started work right away. The first project phase, covering traffic of the entire road network in Karlsruhe, was successfully completed within a period of two months only. "In a very short time, we have been able to present a complete view of the current traffic situation", explains project manager Dr. Uwe Reiter of “PTV”. For this purpose, a network model, created on the basis of stationary detector data, was merged with floating car and mobile data. “We are very pleased that ‘PTV’ will generate and test a real-time traffic prediction system with the traffic data at its headquarters in Karlsruhe”, confirms Gerhard Schönbeck, Head of the Civil Engineering Office in Karlsruhe.

Exciting times ahead

Phase II in the first quarter will involve an estimation of the traffic condition based on a dynamic model. This will help predict traffic in areas for which no data has been collected so far. Transport planners can thus simulate traffic scenarios, assess different measures and are provided with a set of strategies that they can choose from for predictable events. Traffic prediction for real-time traffic management and optimisation will be part of phase III which will be implemented in the course of 2017.

Enhanced quality through external data

“PTV” is an independent technology provider and has in-depth expertise in preparing and using appropriate data for traffic optimisation. No matter what data sources a city wants to use (e.g. “Inrix”, “Here” or “TomTom”), they can easily be imported and combined with each other. New to the range are vehicle movement data provided by “MotionLogic”, a “Telekom” subsidiary. They are based on anonymized cell phone data which were used for the transport model and all 550 transport zones. The new “Mobility Lab” is thus the world’s first lab where new mobility approaches are tested using historic and online data.

Interfaces to Karlsruhe’s town hall enable permanent exchange of information, so that the city can immediately benefit from the tools and data sets provided by “PTV”. In the future, interested parties from around the world will be able to experience the new Karlsruhe model for Smart Mobility in live settings. For clarity, the Karlsruhe city traffic management will maintain operational control of the system and actual day-to-day traffic management.

Background: Every Smart City needs a smart mobility concept and the mobility market is currently undergoing dramatic change. New mobility solutions are on the rise. The aim is to evaluate the impact on traffic and urban design in order to set the right course today, a course that ensures attractive urban mobility for future generations. “PTV” will continue to enhance its software for traffic planning and control and help develop a modern traffic prediction system for traffic management centres. This cooperation will provide city representatives with access to a full body of traffic planning and optimisation experience that “PTV” has gained as a world market leader in the field of transport technologies and strategies. It thus enables the city of Karlsruhe to plan future measures and simulate potential impact, http://www.ptvgroup.com/en/