Human Travel Patterns Surprisingly Predictable

Human beings are creatures of habit, and new data shows that we may be less spontaneous than previously thought. In a study detailed this week in the journal Nature, researchers from Northeastern University, in Boston, used cellphone signals to demonstrate that human travel patterns are similar among individuals and conform to a simple mathematical model.

“We were surprised by some of the aspects of the study,” says lead author Marta González. “There is a lot of similarity between the behavior of people.”

The study analyzed human motion by monitoring cellphone records and tracking each phone’s signal as it moved from one phone tower to the next. They used the data to come up with a probability equation for describing human movement. The results could have implications for urban planning, traffic monitoring, and the spread of disease, all of which rely on human travel.

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