Researchers from the Chair of Bicycle Traffic, Heather Kaths and Aboozar Roosta, recently attended the SUMO User Conference 2023 in Berlin, Germany.
At the conference, Professor Heather Kaths presented a paper entitled "Framework for Simulating Cyclists in SUMO," which introduces a novel approach to simulating bicycle traffic in urban environments. The paper proposes a modeling framework that links the paradigms used to simulate motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic to better capture the behavior of cyclists. The approach involves dividing a driving lane into sub-lanes  and using a modified social force model to govern the movements and  interactions of cyclists.

In a joint collaboration between BUW Chair of Bicycle Traffic and DLR, the second paper titled "The State of Bicycle Traffic in SUMO" was presented. This paper analyzes the current state of bicycle traffic modeling in SUMO and identifies shortcomings in the existing approaches. The authors provide suggestions for future development features to better capture the behavior of bicycles and micromobility devices in urban traffic simulations.
The conference provided an excellent opportunity for the researchers to network and establish connections with other leading researchers and institutions for future collaborations, particularly in the areas of data sharing and optimization methods.