Internet-Based Prompted Recall Diary with Automated GPS Activity-Trip Detection: System Design

Abstract

The use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to detect certain aspects of human activity and travel patterns is well established. This is especially true for extracting start and end times of activities and trips that are difficult for people to recall accurately. Some attempts have been made to develop automated routines for such detection, although most involve by-hand analysis to complete the picture. Even then, not all aspects of human activity are traceable via GPS, such as activity types and involved persons, and there is growing demand for other activity attributes related to underlying decisions processes. It is inevitable that some form of interaction with subjects is needed to obtain these attributes and gain a better understanding of behaviour. Conducting a Prompted Recall survey is one approach to filling this gap. Three possible approaches are discussed in this paper, including sequential, temporal/tabular, and spatial. The detailed design of a tabular diary-like prompted survey is then presented. It is unique in that it is administered via the Internet, designed explicitly for person-based GPS tracking, incorporates wireless data transmission to a central server, and utilizes a fully automated activity and trip detection algorithm. It also has a compact diary style format and utilizes an intuitive means for correcting and updating detected attributes to arrive at a complete schedule. Example results are presented that demonstrate the potential of the system to handle simple and complex patterns, and for organizing prompts for detailed attribute acquisition. Several key avenues for future development and application are discussed.

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