DownloadThe National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics (NREL OpenPATH, https://nrel.gov/openpath) is a powerful tool designed to help users track their travel modes, including car, bus, bike, and walking, while measuring the associated energy consumption and carbon emissions. By using this app, individuals gain insights into how their travel choices impact the environment.
NREL OpenPATH is not just about individual tracking; it also empowers entire communities to understand their travel patterns, experiment with more sustainable options, and assess the outcomes. This data is invaluable for shaping effective transportation policies and planning, which can lead to the development of more sustainable and accessible urban environments.
For users, the app provides personalized feedback on the environmental impact of their travel choices. Additionally, it aggregates community-level data on mode shares, trip frequencies, and carbon footprints, which is accessible through a public dashboard. This feature enables communities to see broader trends and work towards collective sustainability goals.
The app 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 tailored to meet the needs of specific programs or studies.
Upon first installation, NREL OpenPATH does not collect or transmit any data. Users must actively join a study or program by clicking a link or scanning a QR code and consent to data collection and storage before the app begins to function. For those interested in tracking their personal carbon footprint without joining a specific program, there's an option to participate in NREL's open-access study, where your data might contribute to the control group for partner experiments.
At its heart, the app functions as an automatically sensed travel diary, utilizing background-sensed location and accelerometer data. Users can add semantic labels to their travel logs as requested by program administrators or researchers, enriching the data collected.
It's worth noting that continuous use of GPS in the background can significantly reduce battery life. To mitigate this, NREL OpenPATH automatically turns off GPS when the user is stationary, which helps limit battery drain to approximately 5% for up to 3 hours of travel per day.
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
