Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

Ronald W Eck

Abstract

Information on the travel characteristics of pedestrians is needed in the planning and design of pedestrian facilities. Desired information includes route selected, travel speed, trip origin and destination, and delay. Conventional methods of acquiring pedestrian travel data such as trip diaries suffer from a number of limitations.;Pedometers are simple wearable devices that are receiving considerable attention in the health promotion and physical activity fields. In recent years, there have been significant developments in global positioning system (GPS) technology. User-friendly devices are now available for under {dollar}100. At the same time, more expensive wearable GPS data loggers are available in the market that are capable of collecting more extensive data. While the technology offers great potential in terms of data collection capabilities, questions about accuracy, reliability, user acceptability, and post-processing requirements must be addressed.;A formal assessment was conducted of pedometers, a hand-held GPS unit and a wearable data logger to determine their feasibility in collecting pedestrian travel data. Experiments were devised and conducted to assess the accuracy and reliability of the devices in a variety of conditions including heavy precipitation, dense vegetative cover and between tall buildings. In addition, devices were given to a number of subjects who used them outdoors for a 24-hour period. Each subject also completed a brief questionnaire intended to assess user acceptability of these devices. Results indicated that the pedometer is not suitable for collecting pedestrian travel data. The GPS devices hold promise as data collection devices as long as their limitations are taken into account. The paper presents recommendations about the suitability of each device for collecting pedestrian travel data.

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