Research

How can the functionality of cities with digitally networked infrastructures be ensured in extreme situations, crises, and disasters?
To address the different aspects of this complex question, our scientists team up in interdisciplinary, inter-connected groups from various fields of research. The goal of our research is to enable and optimize crises handling to improve our everyday life in any situation.

Our Publications

Program Areas

City and Society

We investigate the chances and needs of a digital society regarding resilient information and communications technology

Information

We focus on data analysis, data visualization and data utilization to optimize crisis detection and recovery

Communication

We work on maintaining and supporting communication between citizens even if central communication systems fail

Cyber-Physical Systems

We explore the potential of autonomous systems to support humans with emergency response and recovery

Current Missions

eHUB

We seek to mitigate the impact of crises utilizing resilient infrastructure and smart appliances

Knowledge Base

We aim to combine and share data about the city to speed up and improve emergency reactions

Digital Heinerblock

We investigate resilience of urban spaces on district level

Completed Missions

ReSON

We focus on empowering citizens to organize and help each other in any situation

Smart Digital Situation Control Center

We investigate data gathering and usage targeted to inform helpers during emergencies

Aerial Crisis Networks

We work on upholding communication networks during crises using unmanned vehicles

Research Highlights

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Smart Homes as Saviors in Times of Need

emergenCITY researchers investigated whether automatic responses from a smart home are perceived as annoying or...

Mar 11, 2025

Distinguished Lecture with Mathy Vanhoef

The emergenCITY Distinguished Lecture Series presents a new lecture by Mathy Vanhoef, professor in the...

Mar 6, 2025 Events

Recognizing Ambient Noise and Constructing Virtual Buildings

emergenCITY researchers discussed their latest research at the internal DemoFair

Feb 27, 2025 Events