uCrowds receives grant to support research on crowd simulations

uCrowds will contribute to the INVISE project, a collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Public Safety (NIPV) and the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region. The project focuses on the development of digital twins—virtual replicas of real-world environments that help predict how people behave during large events and in crisis situations.

What is INVISE?

INVISE aims to combine various types of data—such as 3D imagery of buildings and streets, along with semantic information like walking routes and emergency exits. By better aligning visual and semantic layers, simulations can become more realistic and efficient, improving predictions of crowd behavior in busy scenarios like SAIL Amsterdam or King’s Day.

However, the applications of INVISE go far beyond civil events—ranging from crowded urban environments to dual-use applications such as military operations. By advancing the quality and usability of simulations, INVISE helps the Netherlands become better prepared for future risks and crises.

A word from our partners

Roland Geraerts (CEO, uCrowds) – “At uCrowds, we are exploring how to better align photogrammetric visual data and semantic layers in digital twins. We want to understand how this combination contributes to both realistic and efficient crowd simulations. This way, simulations become not only more accurate but also more applicable for safety professionals in real-world operations.”

Amy Matser (Professor of Data-Driven Public Safety, NIPV) – “It’s great that we, as a research group on data-driven public safety, are able to contribute to a project that directly aligns with the needs of safety regions. With INVISE, we aim to enhance the practical usability of digital twins.”

Joep Rozendal (Program Director IV for Safety Regions) – “In day-to-day operations within the safety regions, we regularly encounter questions that don’t have immediate answers—or opportunities that we are not yet able to fully seize. NIPV has the knowledge and expertise to support us with high-quality research, solving bottlenecks and unlocking these opportunities.

I’m particularly pleased with this project because it allows us to improve the use of practical simulations. These simulations offer strong tools for risk monitoring and prevention. The more realistic we can make them, the more effective they are. It’s encouraging to see additional resources being made available to take these next steps.”

Real-world testing

The new simulation technologies will first be tested using historical event data. In 2026, they will be evaluated during live events, focusing on both technical performance and usability for safety professionals.

Strategic collaboration

This collaboration takes place under the Strategic Safety Market Programme, which aims to strengthen public-private partnerships in research and innovation for the safety sector.

INVISE is funded through PPS-i resources provided by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs via TKI ICT. TKI ICT is the Top Consortium for Knowledge and Innovation for the ICT sector.