With data, many problems of the car industry are to be
solved. They may also help reduce emissions.
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| Exhaust: Many diesel vehicles exceed the permitted limits in everyday operation.(Photo: Audi) |
At the peak hours is a lot going on in German cities. The cars push
each other step by step across the streets. In many places the
permissible limit values for emissions are exceeded, for example at the
Neckartor in Stuttgart. There, the city has already tried a lot, from
walls with special moss to street cleaning machines. The traffic
itself, however, is no less. Environmental associations are always
complaining about the right to clean air. Courts often give them
justice. In the meantime, a driving ban for older diesel models is
threatening in Stuttgart.
The city is already experimenting with real-time data from traffic. The
information is interesting not only for municipalities: car manufacturers as
well as IT companies are discovering new business in traffic
forecasts. The future vision of the carers is that autonomously
controlling vehicles will in future warn each other of traffic jams, but
also of possible hazards such as ice or wet roads. Mamatha Chamarthi,
"Chief Digital Officer" at the automotive supplier ZF, has recently named
the way to zero accidents and zero emissions.
More data - better navigation
So-called floating car data - current GPS data from traffic users - are
collected so far in order to present the current traffic
situation. In Germany the data is anonymised, information about the driver or the
type of drive are not included. Nevertheless: "The Floating Car Data is getting better and more and more
consistent with the observations on our own cameras and measuring points,"
says Ralf Thomas, Head of the Traffic Control Center in Stuttgart. "The
improved data base gives the navigation systems more accurate information
for route guidance," he explains.
In Stuttgart, the data in a pilot project has already been enriched with
information from traffic planners. Navigation systems were provided
with information on the technical measures used to control traffic due to
congestion, events or construction sites. If, for example, the access
road was regulated by traffic lights to prevent traffic jamming in a tunnel,
the navigation system did not normally notice this. The system was able
to react earlier with information from the traffic planners. "The more
data is put together, the better the algorithms," explains
Thomas. "Better solutions are offered than simply diverting
traffic." Together with the University of Stuttgart, he wants to test
in the future.
Traffic will be no less
The Fraunhofer Institute for Labor and Organization in Stuttgart, together
with the mobile phone company Telefonica, has investigated whether mobile
data is suitable for traffic planning. "Via mobile data, theoretically
all transport modes can be represented - including public transport and
footpaths," explains Tobias Männel from the Fraunhofer IAO. This is
valuable in the planning of offers with different means of transport - and
to answer the question of which forms of transport can be replaced.
But does this also help to improve the air quality in problems such as the
Stuttgart Neckartor? "With the aid of real-time data it is possible to
react to disturbances," says Peter Vortisch of the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology (KIT). "This is the biggest lever." The data base is
now better, infrastructure such as the traffic light controls can be
adapted. "The traffic volume will not be less," warnisch
warns. And it would not necessarily reduce pollutants. A green
wave only reduces pollutants if it does not lead to more people
driving. "Liquid traffic is always better than jammed."
Delivery service as an alternative?
The reason is simple: a steady traffic generates less turbulence of fine
dust, explains traffic planner Thomas. "Nitrogen oxide emissions are
also reduced if there is not enough gas." In Stuttgart nearly 70 green
waves have now been introduced. However, green waves only functioned
with a capacity utilization of 80 to 90 percent. There is also the risk
of "induced traffic". "We see this effect, for example, in the case of
bypass roads," explains Thomas. "As soon as there is an advantage in
the travel time, it will be more attractive to travel by car."
Tobias Männel of the Fraunhofer IAO nevertheless sees a possibility of
taking advantage of the data. Almost a third of all routes are made up
of purchases. "It would, for example, be conceivable that deliveries
could also be booked as an additional service in a public transport app,"
says Männel. "Instead of 100 buyers with their own car would be a
delivery van on the road and the 100 people could take the public transport,
since they need nothing more transport themselves." However, the
implementation of such ideas is likely to take some time until they are
implemented. The air at the Neckar Gate will remain dirty for a while.
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