NREL OpenPATH 1.8.0

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics (NREL OpenPATH) allows individuals to monitor various modes of transportation—such as car, bus, bike, walking—and assess the corresponding energy consumption and carbon footprint. This application provides communities with insights into their travel mode preferences and behaviors, offers the flexibility to experiment with sustainable alternatives, and facilitates outcome evaluations. The data generated can be instrumental in shaping efficient transportation strategies and urban planning initiatives geared towards sustainability and accessibility.

NREL OpenPATH serves to educate users on the environmental implications of their travel choices, in addition to furnishing aggregated data on mode distribution, trip frequency, and carbon emissions through a public dashboard for community-level analysis.

Employing real-time data processing carried out by a mobile app linked to a server, NREL OpenPATH features continuous data capture and analytics. Its transparent design allows for adaptable configuration tailored to diverse programs or research endeavors.

Upon installation, the app doesn’t commence data collecting or transmitting until you opt to participate in a specific study or program by following a provided link or scanning a QR code. User consent for data retention is obtained before the application becomes operational. For individual users interested in quantifying their personal carbon footprint without being part of a partner initiative, joining the NREL-run open-access study is an option; contributing data may be utilized as a control within partner experiments.

Essentially functioning as an automatically curated travel log using background location tracking and accelerometer data, the app supports manual annotations with customized labels as requested by program administrators or researchers.

To address potential battery drain concerns stemming from continuous GPS usage in the background, the app intelligently deactivates location tracking during periods of inactivity. This efficiency measure results in approximately 5% battery consumption for up to 3 hours of daily travel.