The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics (NREL OpenPATH, https://nrel.gov/openpath) offers a powerful tool for tracking various travel modes, such as cars, buses, bikes, and walking, while also measuring the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with these activities. This innovative app not only helps individuals understand the environmental impact of their travel choices but also empowers communities to analyze their travel patterns and experiment with more sustainable options.
By using NREL OpenPATH, communities can gather valuable insights into their transportation habits, which can inform effective policy-making and urban planning. This data-driven approach aids in the development of more sustainable and accessible cities. The app provides individual users with personalized feedback on their travel choices and their environmental impact, while also offering a public dashboard that displays aggregated community-level data on mode shares, trip frequencies, and carbon footprints.
NREL OpenPATH leverages continuous data collection and analysis through a smartphone app, supported by a server and automated data processing. Its open-source framework ensures transparency in data collection and analysis, and it can be customized for specific programs or studies. Upon first installation, the app does not collect or transmit any data. To participate in a study or program, users must click a link or scan a QR code and consent to data collection and storage. For those not affiliated with a partner community but interested in tracking their personal carbon footprint, joining the NREL-run open-access study is an option. Your data, in aggregate, may serve as a control for experiments conducted by our partners.
At its core, NREL OpenPATH functions as an automatically sensed travel diary, utilizing background location and accelerometer data. Users can enhance this diary with semantic labels as requested by program administrators or researchers. It's important to note that continuous use of GPS in the background can significantly reduce battery life. To mitigate this, the app automatically deactivates GPS when the user is stationary, resulting in approximately a 5% battery drain for up to 3 hours of daily travel.
What's New in the Latest Version 1.9.1
Last updated on Oct 15, 2024
- Make push notifications optional since there are some programs that don't need them
