Looking for cyclists: students measure bicycle traffic with an app

Dennis Höting and Jens Runge are Business Informatics students at the university. In their joint Master’s thesis, they are focusing on cycle traffic in the city of Oldenburg and are launching a measurement campaign from 26 August to 1 September 2013.

The aim of the survey, for which they are still seeking participants, is to gather data designed to optimise cycling flows in Oldenburg in the long term. In co-operation with the Oldenburg Traffic Control Centre, the two students are setting up a prototype sensor network intended to provide insights into participants’ cycling habits and routes. Participants will also record their routes using an app and log the distances they have cycled anonymously on the project’s website. Through this project, the City of Oldenburg is gaining experience in recording and counting cyclists, which can be utilised in the long term for the planning of cycle paths and traffic light systems.

On Monday 26 August at 7.00 pm, the students will present their Master’s thesis at The Smart House Oldenburg (Schlossplatz 16) and provide information about the measurement campaign. The students are receiving support for the project from the Oldenburg-based computer science institute OFFIS.

Here’s how cyclists in Oldenburg can take part in the measurement campaign: on the website www.ma-gremo.de, participants can register anonymously without providing an email address or any other personal data, and download the ‘Gremo app’. The app is also available to download for free from ‘Google Play’ under ‘Gremo-App’. The app records cycling routes and later uploads them to the website. The website calculates the petrol cost that would have been incurred for the distance travelled and allows users to compete with others for the longest cycling route. Anyone interested who does not wish to install the Gremo app but already logs their cycling routes using other apps can ‘donate’ their route data anonymously via the project’s website. A latest-model Android smartphone will be raffled off amongst all participants. Participants retain control over their data at all times; the data is analysed anonymously only.