System

A Modular Construction System

  • Construction system for the creation of elevated BikeHighways

  • BikeHighways with 2 lanes per direction have a capacity of up to 4,000 bikes per direction and hour

  • Lightweight wooden construction on a steel support structure

  • Railing with integrated PV-system

  • Integrated track heating

  • Integrated intelligence for increased safety and reduced maintenance costs

  • Guidance system for optimising traffic

  • Patent applied for globally

The Track Element

  • The track element is the core building block of the urb-x system. It consists of three main components:

    • A track panel with a specialised heated surface

    • Two railing elements with integrated PV modules

    • Optionally a street lamp with integrated sensors and navigation signals

  • The track panel is made of wood, which is treated with a special coating from the Conica company. The railing elements are made of steel or aluminium.

  • Track elements are available as either straight or trapezoidal curve elements with 8 different curve radii

  • A complete track element weighs around 700kg

  • Track elements have a standardised coupling mechanism to the adjacent track elements and to their supporting structures

Entry and Exits

The Support Element

  • The support element in the form of a box girder is the central load-bearing structure of the urb-x system

  • The essential infrastructures of the urb-x system are integrated in the support element

  • A straight support elementhas a length of 20m, a width of 2m and weighs around 5'400kg

  • For the implementation of curves, trapezoidal support elements with different lengths are adapted to the corresponding roadway elements.

  • All support elements are equipped with a standardised coupling at their ends, which enables the connection to the next support element and the connection to the pillar

  • Each support element is also equipped with standardised coupling mechanisms for the carriageway elements

Pillars und Foundations

  • The urb-x system enables a wide range of support options. This means that pilars can be placed and flexibly adapted to the local requirements.

  • Depending on the shape and height of the pillars and the nature of the ground, the foundation must be correspondingly proportioned

  • The standard pillars are made of 40cm steel tubes. Other versions are also possible

Modern Sensors - Built-in Smartness

  • Various sensors measure state of the track, all systems and environmental parameters

  • Two networked controllers per girder element handle all data and enable communication and storage of information

  • All power and data cabling is housed inside the girder elements.

  • The technical components of the girder element, such as the high-performance power bus bar and the communication network are available for third-party usage if required.

  • Excess space within the girder elements can be used for other infrastructure applications.

Advanced Traffic Management

  • Continuous measuring and cloud storage of the track state as the base for various traffic management applications.

  • Integrated track direction signals and display boards allow situation-aware interaction between traffic management and bike highway users

  • Automatic detection and reaction on various traffic situations such as:

    • New rider entering the track ==> alert riders already on the track

    • Pedestrian on the track ==> alert, lock lane

    • Accident ==> alert, block track

  • Capacity-based usage of track allowing to switch from a 2+2-lane system to a 3+1- or a 1+1-lane system

Maintenance & Rescue

  • Standard ambulances (< 5 tons, height < 2.75m) can access urb-x tracks with a speed limit of 30 km/h. The traffic management system will block the respective track sections.

  • Standard road cleaning machines (< 5 tons) can access urb-x tracks. Automated cleaning robots could be envisaged. As a track heating is integrated, significantly less maintenance work can be expected.

  • Various sensors continuously monitor the “health” of the various modules. Machine learning algorithms issue predictive maintenance alerts to the track operator.

  • In case of defects the various modules can be replaced with minimal interruption of the urb-x tracks availability. A stock of replacement modules ensures a high availability of the track.

  • Defect modules can be repaired or recycled back in the work yard of the track operator.

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