lab and test vehicle

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU)

Wien | Website

Open for Collaboration

Short Description

All-wheel-drive Mercedes-Benz Sprinter panel van with continuous waterproof flooring
Custom-built interior: Office furnishings (desks and workstations) and a drawer unit
Special equipment: Rear storage compartment, automatic battery charger, generator, IT equipment (monitors), foldable tent

Video overview on the bus' equipment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F1w7_bQhnk

Contact Person

Mag. (FH) Christian Resch, MEng.

Research Services

Towing vehicle for mobile measuring equipment on the one hand, command center and evaluation center on the other hand

Methods & Expertise for Research Infrastructure

Vehicle equipped to analyse data collected during on-site operations.

The lab bus is part of BOKU's mobile research lab within DCNA. The mobile research lab was purchased as part of the HRSM project funded by the BMFWF and developed together with DCNA’s founding universities (Graz University of Technology and BOKU University). At the beginning of DCNA’s disaster research conference in September 2023, the project was presented at Montanuniversität Leoben. Above all, it is intended to promote research in the field (i.e., at disaster sites). The lab is available to researchers at Graz University of Technology and BOKU University and enables them to provide their expertise locally and promptly in the event of a disaster or in areas that are at risk. Individual elements are also used in exercises and research projects.

The mobile research lab currently consists of a lab bus, a pick-up truck and a trailer for transporting necessary equipment and technology. This includes information and communication modules, laboratory and analysis workstations as well as all the basic technical equipment that is necessary for efficient operation in the field. Part of the lab is, on the one hand, a ground-based robot with cameras and fire sensors that can navigate independently (“Mercator” robotics platform), and on the other hand, an unmanned aerial vehicle with a laser scanner and a regular and thermal imaging camera (“Matador” drone). In 2025, the lab was expanded with a four-legged mobile robot.

In order to ensure use even under difficult conditions, a self-sufficient power supply is guaranteed. The mobile research lab can be used, among other things, to monitor landslides around residential areas or to effectively assess dangers and risks along railway and motorway routes.