Team

A growing majority of humans is living in urban areas. This trend can pose high requirements on the infrastructures of these cities. Especially in crises and times of high uncertainty, these infrastructures can be exposed to high and unprecedented strains. Models of the infrastructures are needed to ensure their function. Models describing the behavior and interaction of technical and human components are called socio-technical systems. Existing literature utilizes a multitude of modelling paradigms to model socio-technical water infrastructure systems. Examples for such Paradigms are agent-based modelling, system dynamics models and statistical models. The theoretical underpinnings of these models are just as diverse and are based in psychology, behavioral economics and in data driven approaches. To ensure the usefulness of such socio-technical models, their validity and occurring uncertainty need to be evaluated.

The research aims to identify, to adjust, and to further develop methods for the validation and uncertainty quantification of socio-technical models. The methods are drawn from various scientific disciplines, including engineering, economics, sociology, physics, ecology and applied mathematics.

The results of this research will help to improve digital models of existing infrastructures. Some of these digital models are called Digital Twins. How Digital Twins can be used to provide the security and resilience of terrestrial infrastructures is a research focus of the Institute for the Protection of Terrestrial Infrastructures of the DLR (German Aerospace Center). This research on the resilience of digital cities is also in the focus of the LOEWE Center emergenCITY. FST collaborates with DLR and emergenCITY. This benefits the research through interdisciplinary exchange and the various resulting perspectives on the application of results.