Modeling and Simulation of Cyclist in Shared Spaces

Simulation models that reproduce cycling activity are crucial for the accurate modeling of shared spaces. Recent research focuses more on pedestrians and cars as the main road users. However, as the number of cyclists increases in urban areas, the need to realistically model the movement and the interactions of cyclists among other road users in mixed-traffic environments is rapidly gaining significance.

This PhD thesis aims to extend the current state of the art by modeling and simulating realistic cyclists’ behaviour in mixed-traffic environments. The cycling behaviour shall be investigated, and an agent-based model of cyclists, with the extension of the social force model and considering the bicycle kinematics, will be proposed. A laboratory drone experiment shall be carried out to aid my observations and, in addition to the available real data, to evaluate my model. The model will be integrated into a multiagent simulation system to simulate the interaction among other road users. The cyclist model is expected to be valuable to test shared space designs, in terms of safety and fairness among traffic participants.