Seoul Robotics is partnering ALP.Lab, an Austria-based test laboratory for automated driving systems, to provide 3D perception traffic safety systems in central Europe. The LiDAR systems provide detailed insights into accident-prone intersections and are currently being deployed in Salzburg, Austria.

The number of bicycle crashes in the EU has remained high over the last decade. It is the only mode of transport that has not declined in deaths in the EU over the last ten years. Cyclists have had the greatest increase in serious crash-related injuries at 24%, with a high proportion of cyclist fatalities occurring at intersections. Seoul Robotics and ALP.Lab developed a LiDAR-based system, powered by Seoul Robotics’ perception software, SENSR, to better understand interactions between vulnerable road users and vehicles in Europe.

Salzburg Research deployed the solution in cooperation with the Mobility Laboratory zukunftswege.at after identifying two high-risk intersections with multiple bicycle lanes in the city of Salzburg. The solution was designed to collect and analyze precise and high-frequency data of all road user movements and specific and complex interactions between vehicles and vulnerable road users.

Each Salzburg intersection has been equipped with four sensors and a LiDAR-Processing Unit running Seoul Robotics’ perception software. This software, SENSR, collects data from strategically positioned sensors for insights into the position and speed of objects within the intersection and is uniquely able to differentiate between cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles in order to simultaneously and anonymously analyze their movements.

“Based on the comprehensive data gained, we can analyze road user behavior and conflict situations and derive valuable insights, which generally contribute to an increase in road safety for all road users and specifically enable improvement measures at the analyzed intersection,” said Siegfried Reich, Managing Director at Salzburg Research.

Access to the infrastructure at the intersections was established via the zukunftswege.at mobility laboratory. “With the help of our real-world laboratory environment, results from the tests can be passed on directly to the city and state of Salzburg as the responsible regional authorities,” said Christian Kainz, Project Manager of the mobility laboratory zukunftswege.at.

“Road design plays an enormous role in user safety and until recently, there’s been very limited quality data that can decipher the chaos and show us where we need to improve,” said Christoph Knauder, Manager Operations at ALP.Lab. “This is especially true for cyclists which are a major pain point in Europe’s mission towards zero road deaths by 2050. We’re excited to grow our partnership with Seoul Robotics so that more cities across Europe can get the insights they need to build smarter, safer roads.”

“Improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians not only reduces road fatalities, but also encourages active mobility which reduces congestion, emissions, and generally leads to a healthier population,” said William Muller, Vice President of Business Development at Seoul Robotics. “Together with ALP.Lab, we’re helping Salzburg create a blueprint for mobility solutions and generating huge amounts of quality data for further custom processing and smart city applications.”