NREL OpenPATH

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics (NREL OpenPATH, https://nrel.gov/openpath) is a revolutionary tool that allows individuals to meticulously track their travel modes, including car, bus, bike, walking, and more, while simultaneously measuring their energy consumption and carbon emissions. This app is designed to empower users and communities to gain a deeper understanding of their travel choices and patterns, enabling them to experiment with more sustainable options and evaluate the outcomes effectively.

By providing users with insights into the environmental impact of their travel decisions, NREL OpenPATH not only fosters personal accountability but also aggregates community-level data on mode shares, trip frequencies, and carbon footprints. This information is accessible via a public dashboard, making it a valuable resource for informing transportation policy and planning, ultimately contributing to the development of more sustainable and accessible urban environments.

The app's functionality is supported by continuous data collection and analysis through a smartphone app, which is backed by a server and automated data processing. Its open-source nature ensures transparent data handling and allows for customization to meet the needs of specific programs or studies. Upon initial installation, the app does not collect or transmit any data. However, once you join a study or program by clicking a link or scanning a QR code, you will be prompted to consent to data collection and storage before the app becomes operational.

For those not affiliated with a partner community or program but interested in assessing their personal carbon footprint, participation in NREL's open-access study is available. In this context, your data may contribute to the control group for experiments conducted by our partners. At its essence, the app functions as an automatically sensed travel diary, utilizing background sensed location and accelerometer data, which you can further annotate with semantic labels as directed by program administrators or researchers.

It's worth noting that continuous use of GPS in the background can significantly impact your device's battery life. To mitigate this, the app automatically deactivates GPS when you are stationary, reducing battery drain to 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

- Make push notifications optional since there are some programs that don't need them

NREL OpenPATH Screenshots