On Monday, August 4, 2025, the company Cyclomedia Deutschland GmbH began surveying the surrounding area in parts of the city of Dresden using modern recording vehicles equipped with cameras and laser scanners. The surveys are taking place in the districts of Altstadt, Blasewitz, Leuben, Plauen and Prohlis.

The measurements are part of the environmental monitoring project in the model project Smart City Dresden . The aim is to create a detailed surface model that can be used to simulate the effects of heavy rainfall. "With the help of the surface model, we can better predict heavy rainfall events and their effects. The risk analysis for citizens will be more reliable," says René Herold, Head of the Environment Department. "But it's not just heavy rain risk analyses that can be created with the collected data. The broad database of the inspections can be used across all departments. This means that topics such as accessibility, road and cycle path planning or the deployment planning of security and emergency services can be dealt with easily and quickly in future. This is an important step towards making Dresden safer, more sustainable and more liveable."

The recording trips are expected to be completed by the beginning of September 2025. In compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), any personal data contained in the images, such as recognizable faces and license plates, will be made unrecognizable by the company. The image data will only be evaluated within the city administration, i.e. it will not be published.