The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics (NREL OpenPATH, accessible at https://nrel.gov/openpath) is a powerful tool designed to help users track their travel modes such as car, bus, bike, and walking, while also measuring the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with these activities.
This innovative app empowers communities to gain insights into their travel choices and patterns, enabling them to experiment with sustainable options and evaluate their impacts. The data collected can inform transportation policies and planning, contributing to the development of more sustainable and accessible urban environments.
NREL OpenPATH not only provides individual users with personalized feedback on the environmental impact of their travel decisions but also aggregates community-level data. This includes mode shares, trip frequencies, and carbon footprints, which are made available through a public dashboard.
The app's functionality is supported by continuous data collection and analysis facilitated by a smartphone app, a server, and automated data processing systems. Its open-source framework ensures transparency in data collection and analysis, and it can be tailored to suit specific programs or research studies.
Upon initial installation, the app does not collect or transmit any data. Data collection begins only after users consent to participate in a study or program, which can be joined by clicking a link or scanning a QR code. For those not affiliated with a partner community but interested in tracking their personal carbon footprint, participation in NREL's open-access study is an option. Data from these participants may serve as a control group for experiments conducted by NREL's partners.
At its core, NREL OpenPATH functions as an automatically generated travel diary, using background-sensed location and accelerometer data. Users have the option to add semantic labels to their travel entries as required 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 a minimal battery drain of approximately 5% for up to 3 hours of daily travel.
What's New in the Latest Version 1.9.1
Last updated on Oct 15, 2024
- Users can now opt out of push notifications, catering to programs that do not require them.
