Urban mobility

Smart mobility hubs, car-free neighbourhoods, zero-emission zones and one day maybe even self-driving cars. The city is full of opportunities to improve accessibility, liveability and safety.

The matter is urgent, as cities in Europe are becoming increasingly crowded with more residents, more visitors and more logistics. We are stuck in traffic jams, we emit a lot of CO2, we make accidents and parking is difficult. In our cities there is an ungoing battle for scarce space: do we prioritise green streets or parking spaces in front of our homes?

Delft urban mobility scientists are developing much-needed knowledge and solutions to make our busy cities smart, clean and safe for everyone. We are building bikes that won't topple over and autonomous boats to deliver packages over water. We develop apps to make shared transport user-friendly. We are tinkering with algorithms for self-driving, electric vehicles. And we implement car-free neighbourhoods and green corridors for pedestrians. With our tools, data visualizations, digital twins and serious games, we help municipalities in the Netherlands and Europe with their mobility issues.

We accelerate the mobility transition and make cities smart, clean and safe for everyone.

Millions of people are on the move in a city at the same time: an interesting puzzle.’
Researcher Maaike Snelder

Read the story ‘The accessible city’

Inclusiveness and accessibility for all people, not just a certain social class.
Researcher Achilleas Psyllidis

Read the story ‘The accessible city’

Demand-driven public transportation will be the breakthrough of the near future.
Researcher Niels van Oort

Read the story ‘The accessible city’

The city is full of opportunities for smart mobility. Our mission is an accessible, green city for all.

Student Story

Causing near collisions with cyclists to improve traffic models

It’s surprising, but in the Netherlands – a nation of cyclists – there’s very little data on how cyclists respond to each other in traffic. Yet this data is essential for creating more realistic traffic models, which in turn are key to designing better cycling infrastructure across the Netherlands. Anna Marbus, a master’s student in robotics, wants to change that by causing near collisions with cyclists.

Read the story of Anna

| In our labs

SenseBike

This is TU Delft's SenseBike - a bicycle equipped with the same advanced sensors used in autonomous vehicles. While cycling through the city, the SenseBike creates a detailed map of the urban environment in real-time and collects valuable close-up data on cyclists' behaviour. This helps improve algorithms of automated cars and design safer intersections for cyclists.

| Watchtime: 28 sec.

Watch more

Remote control of automated cars

What if an automated car has trouble? Georgios Papaioannou and his team work on improving a remote operators’ driving performance, using visual and haptic feedback.

Platooning by little robots

Automated vehicles can drive in groups close to each other in a coordinated manner. At TU Delft’s robotics lab Laura Ferranti and Lorenzo Lyons use little car-like robots to test platooning strategies using little car-like robots.

Experiencing autonomous cars

How do passengers experience a self driving vehicle? Our Mobility Innovation Centre is researching just that, in a lab on wheels. This car is operated by a human driver, but the passenger doesn’t see that. Sensors, eye trackers and microphones measure all responses to define stressful situations.

Stories of Science

Story

From Parking lot to Playground: Joining forces for safe and liveable school environments

Eltjo van Veen, a student of Transport, Infrastructure, and Logistics (TIL), explored how different stakeholders -from parents and residents to municipal authorities -can be engaged in redesigning school environments according to the principles of the Fair Street.

Story

What if we all share our rides?

With just a few clicks associate professor Oded Cats empties the streets of Amsterdam of all cars. In a simulation model, that is. ‘Now what if we ban Uber? Or allow only trams or bike sharing services?’ From his office in the CEG faculty building Cats is experimenting with a complex computer model creating a wealth of different virtual transport scenarios. He specifically looks into new modes of shared mobility, as they have brought a whole new dynamic to our cities.

Story

Giving freight a voice

Smart and sustainable, that is where freight transport should be headed, according to Mahnam Saeednia: "I see goods as individuals who have to collaborate to reach their goals."

Story

Hassle as a limiting factor for using energy when the sun shines

Due to changing regulations and the introduction of feed-in tariffs, households with solar panels are increasingly required to use the energy they generate directly.

Story

Having your own car, bike or moped may be convenient but it’s also clogging up our city centres. Shared mobility can make cities easier to navigate and improve air quality. But adopting it efficiently is easier said than done. Maaike Snelder is helping local authorities to piece together the urban mobility jigsaw.