Design and implementation of an Android application to anonymously analyse locations of the citizens in Barcelona
This addresses urban mobility analysis needs for Barcelona city planners and researchers, though it appears incremental as an implementation-focused extension of existing location-tracking technology.
The researchers developed MobilitApp, an Android application that collects anonymous mobility data and activity types from citizens in Barcelona through background location tracking. They implemented tools to better exploit this data, increased user adoption, improved security for sensitive information, and established channels for future functionality enhancements.
The MobilitApp application is able to obtain mobility data and type of activity performed by a person. It runs in the background and stores the information in synchronous periodic locations. The main work of this project was to develop tools that facilitate the exploitation of the information obtained, add elements that make it attractive to use the application and spread it to a wider audience. With these new procedures, we manage to increase the number of connected users, improve security with which sensitive user information is managed and establish channels that will be used to add additional functionality to the application in future works.