Research by bike! For more safety on Brandenburg's roads
According to the German Road Traffic Regulations (StVO), cars and trucks must maintain a minimum distance of one and a half meters (in built-up areas) or two meters (outside built-up areas) when overtaking cyclists. However, reality often shows a different picture: cyclists are harassed by an insufficient overtaking distance and accidents can and do occur. Studies also show that bicycles are often not used at all for fear of being endangered in traffic.
In the research project "Too close? - More safety with distance!" participants can measure the overtaking distance between themselves and overtaking cars themselves with the help of the "OpenBikeSensor" installed on bicycles and thus help to create an objective and important data collection. The OpenBikeSensor, currently nominated for the German Bicycle Award, is an open source project developed voluntarily by citizens. Equipped with a GPS module and ultrasonic sensor, the exact location is determined during overtaking maneuvers, the respective distance to the right and left is measured and stored on the SD card built into the sensor.
The Innovation Hub 13, a transfer project of the TH Wildau and the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, is cooperating closely on this citizen science project with the BMVI Endowed Chair of Cycling at the TH Wildau, the Maker Space ViNN:Lab, and the Luckenwalde Outreach Center.
The implementation of "Too close? - More safety with distance!" takes place in three steps: First, the OpenBikeSensor is assembled from individual components and tested under supervision in several workshops. In the second part, the participants are asked to regularly use the OpenBikeSensor during bicycle rides. Finally, after a predefined period of time and together with the project staff at the TH Wildau, the data obtained will be read out and evaluated.
Every interested person can participate and register now. Previous knowledge is not required. All important information about the project and the possibility to register can be found on the website: www.innohub13.de/wir-forschen/zu-nah.
The "Innovation Hub 13 - fast track to transfer" is the interface between science, business and the public in the region along the A13. The transfer project of the Technical University of Wildau and the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg translates, mediates and supports the interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge, technologies and solutions in the fields of digital integration, lightweight construction and life sciences. It is one of the 29 selected winners of the federal-state funding initiative "Innovative University", equipped with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF and the state of Brandenburg. For more information, visit www.innovative-hochschule.de.
Subject contact: Zoe Ingram zoe.ingram(at)th-wildau.de 0151 502 14 520
Press contact: Kathrin Schlüßler, Anne-Kathrin Rensch presse(at)innohub13.de
