Mathematics for a better future

How simulations of millions of synthetic humans can accelerate the transport transition

We are living in a time of major transformations - the sustainable transformation of mobility is one of them. Anyone researching this issue has to deal with complex social systems, technological and political aspects, different interests and many other variables.

How can we get to grips with this complexity? A method with an unwieldy name comes to the rescue here: agent-based modeling. This is not about spies, but about mathematical models that simulate the behavior of many individual actors, so-called agents, and investigate how their interaction affects an overall system.

This type of application-oriented mathematics is one of the methods used by the Berlin Cluster of Excellence MATH+. The aim is to develop new approaches in this area - across institutions and disciplines.

Dr. Sarah Wolf (FU Berlin) and Prof. Dr. Kai Nagel (TU Berlin) are researching agent-based models at MATH+ and are in demand both in school classes and among decision-makers. Their work is an inspiring example of research in the open knowledge lab Berlin, which does not take place behind closed doors, but in exchange with the people of the city!