VENUS - Verkehrstechnische Nutzung von Satellitendaten

Funded by FFG (Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft) 

Project Leader at TUM
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Xiaoxiang Zhu

Project Scientists at TUM

Dr. Andrea Reimuth, Wei Huang

Cooperation Partners
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

IMC Infrastructure Management Consultants GmbH

 

Runtime
2025 – 2027

The D-A-CH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) boasts an efficient transport infrastructure and high personal mobility. Yet, maintaining aging road networks under increasing climate stress and rising safety demands presents growing challenges. Traditional monitoring methods, while diverse, often lack scalability and comprehensive cost-efficient analytical capabilities. Remote sensing methods offer systematic, non-invasive, and retrospective data collection across vast areas, enabling insights into surface temperatures, vegetation, traffic patterns, air pollutants, and structural deformations. The VeNuS project explores the transformative potential of EO for road infrastructure management. 

VeNuS systematically compiles EO-based data and potential applications for road infrastructure monitoring and integrates expert perspectives to build a broad portfolio of use cases. These are evaluated against conventional methods, considering cost-efficiency, data protection, and technological readiness. The project also investigates hybrid approaches combining EO-based data with other sources. Therefore, VeNuS lays the groundwork for future innovation, helping transport authorities harness satellite technology to enhance infrastructure resilience, sustainability, and efficiency.

The VeNuS project brings together leading expertise from research and practice through its three partners: AIT, TUM, and IMC, each contributing specialized knowledge in infrastructure monitoring, Earth observation technologies, and economic evaluation.