TrajectoryNet: an embedded GPS trajectory representation for point-based classification using recurrent neural networks

Understanding and discovering knowledge from GPS (Global Positioning System) traces of human activities is an essential topic in mobility-based urban computing. We propose TrajectoryNet—a neural network architecture for point-based trajectory classi€cation to infer real world human transportation modes from GPS traces. To overcome the challenge of capturing the underlying latent factors in the low-dimensional and heterogeneous feature space imposed by GPS data, we develop a novel representation that embeds the original feature space into another space that can be understood as a form of basis expansion. We also enrich the feature space via segment-based information and use Maxout activations to improve the predictive power of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs). We achieve over 98% classi€cation accuracy when detecting four types of transportation modes, outperforming existing models without additional sensory data or location-based prior knowledge.