Abstract
Integration of individual time-location patterns with spatially resolved exposure maps enables a more accurate estimation of personal exposures to environmental pollutants than using estimates at fixed locations. Current global positioning system (GPS) devices can be used to track an individual's location. However, information on GPS-performance in environmental exposure assessment is largely missing. We therefore performed two studies. First, a commute-study, where the commute of 12 individuals was tracked twice, testing GPS-performance for five transport modes and two wearing modes. Second, an urban-tracking study, where one individual was tracked repeatedly through different areas, focused on the effect of building obstruction on GPS-performance. The median error from the true path for walking was 3.7 m, biking 2.9 m, train 4.8 m, bus 4.9 m, and car 3.3 m. Errors were larger in a high-rise commercial area (median error=7.1 m) compared with a low-rise residential area (median error=2.2 m). Thus, GPS-performance largely depends on the transport mode and urban built-up. Although ∼85% of all errors were <10 m, almost 1% of the errors were >50 m. Modern GPS-devices are useful tools for environmental exposure assessment, but large GPS-errors might affect estimates of exposures with high spatial variability.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the participants of the commute and the urban tracking study for carrying the GPS-devices for the data collection, Gerard Heuvelink and Sytze de Bruin from Wageningen University for their help on defining the uncertainty in the error measures, the students from the course RGIC 2010 for their project “Performance of GPS in Urban Areas”, John Bolte for lending us the AD-850 GPS-devices, and Gerard Hoek and George Downward for critically assessing the manuscript. This research was supported by ZonMW grants 85200001 and 85800001, both of the Dutch programme on Electromagnetic Fields and Health Research, The Netherlands. We have no commercial interest in the tested devices, nor do we endorse any of the devices.
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Beekhuizen, J., Kromhout, H., Huss, A. et al. Performance of GPS-devices for environmental exposure assessment. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 23, 498–505 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.81
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.81
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