Research Bike Holoscene Bike
The Holoscene Bike, developed by the Berlin-based startup Boréal Bikes, is used by Salzburg Research for bicycle safety research, particularly for analyzing overtaking maneuvers by motor vehicles. The Holoscene Bike is equipped with state-of-the-art sensor technology that enables precise measurements and comprehensive data collection.
The technical equipment includes:
- GPS receivers for precise positioning
- Inertial measurement units (IMUs) for analyzing driving behavior
- LiDAR sensors (3D laser scanners) for three-dimensional detection of the environment
- Cameras that provide visual data to supplement LiDAR information
- On-board computers
- Interfaces for wireless communication: LTE/5G, WLAN, Bluetooth, and C-ITS/V2X
- Electric drive
The Holoscene Bike weighs between 40 and 50 kilograms and resembles a heavy cargo bike.
The LiDAR data produces point clouds, which are three-dimensional images of the environment. These point clouds can be used to determine the position and size of vehicles, as well as calculate relevant parameters such as distance and speed. This data provides a solid foundation for scientific analysis and developing targeted measures to improve road safety for cyclists.
A wide range of applications for greater road safety
The Holoscene Bike is being used in various research projects aimed at increasing the safety of cyclists on the road. Two key use cases demonstrate this technology’s potential:
Networking with automated vehicles
In the initial application, the Holoscene Bike was equipped with ITS communication technologies that transmitted its position and direction of movement to surrounding vehicles and the traffic infrastructure in real time via a special radio standard. This allowed automated vehicles to detect the bicycle early on, even when it was outside the range of their sensors. At the same time, cyclists received warning messages when potential collisions were detected. This solution was developed and tested as part of the Bike2CAV project, which aims to avoid collisions with cyclists through vehicle-to-X communication.
Measurement of overtaking maneuvers for objective assessment of bicycle traffic safety
Another key application is analyzing overtaking maneuvers between motor vehicles and cyclists, especially in confined road conditions. Salzburg Research has developed a method that uses the Holoscene Bike to systematically record and evaluate these maneuvers. This method uses point clouds generated by LiDAR sensors to identify vehicles and precisely measure their distance from the bicycle during these maneuvers. Analyzing overtaking distances provides important insights into cyclists’ objective safety and supports developing targeted measures to improve cycling infrastructure. This method was used in the following research projects:
