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Ulm starts a big research bike tour: Discover the Danube and its diversity!
The Ulm Network for Citizen Sciences is starting a research bike tour along the Danube on June 5th to research the landscape and biodiversity.
Ulm starts a big research bike tour: Discover the Danube and its diversity!
The Ulm Network for Citizen Sciences is starting a week-long research cycle tour along the Danube cycle path at Pentecost. This tour covers around 400 kilometers and is carried out by around ten people. Your goal is to both explore the landscape and conduct targeted research. A newly developed sensor system will record and document road damage with millimeter precision.
Participants use the iNaturalist app to document the biodiversity along the route. This not only promotes exchange with other citizen science projects along the route, but also an interactive platform for citizen science. Loud bmbf.de Citizen science enables citizens to actively collect and evaluate data.
Supporting institutions and technologies
The tour's partners are the Ulm University of Technology, the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) Ulm/Neu-Ulm/Alb-Donau-Kreis and the University of Ulm, including its ZAWiW and Botanical Garden facilities. This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Hans Sauer Foundation. Together, these institutions join forces to create supra-regional visibility for the network.
The sensor system, known as SICURA, uses depth cameras, LiDAR scanners and AI algorithms to detect and classify road damage. The data collected serves the purpose of increasing traffic safety and improving road maintenance. At the same time, the passengers map plants and animals, the observations of which are incorporated into an international biodiversity database.
The stages of the research bike tour
The stages of the research bike tour are planned as follows:
- 05.06.2025: Anreise Ulm → Passau
- 06.06.2025: Passau → Schlögener Schlinge
- 07.06.2025: Schlögener Schlinge → Linz
- 08.06.2025: Linz → Grein
- 09.06.2025: Grein → Melk
- 10.06.2025: Melk → Traismauer
- 11.06.2025: Traismauer → Klosterneuburg
- 12.06.2025: Wien – Treffen mit Citizen-Science-Projekten
- 13.06.2025: Rückreise Wien → Ulm
The route leads through some of the most beautiful natural and cultural landscapes, including the UNESCO cultural landscape of Wachau. Impressions and research results are shared daily on Instagram at @ulm.forscht.gemeinsam. For further information, Dorothee Hoffmann from Ulm University is available by email or telephone.
Austria is considered one of the most active countries in Europe in the field of citizen science and offers numerous opportunities for networking. The tour opens up opportunities to collaborate with citizen science enthusiasts who are researching topics such as the water quality of the Danube or endangered species. Within this framework, a common understanding of the environment and its conservation is promoted.
Colonial an active participation in scientific processes. Models like iNaturalist, which loudly iNaturalist.org being described as one of the most used citizen science projects shows how broad engagement can be promoted. All citizen science contributes to having a significant impact on social awareness of the environment and improving scientific knowledge.