Center for Activity Systems Analysis

The rapid advancement of technology has created the opportunity for applying new, powerful tools to transportation engineering problems, but often the very speed of technological change hinders the adoption of these tools in a research environment. This paper documents the development of an extensible data collection unit (EDCU). The unit combines a standard GPS unit, a cellular data modem, and an embedded processor running the Linux operating system. Some preliminary uses and applications of the EDCU are presented as well. The EDCU satisfies multiple functional requirements, due to the flexibility of its modular components and its full-powered operating system. The EDCU will serve the in-vehicle data collection needs of travel demand modelers and ITS researchers for the forseeable future.