Data Collection Technologies – Past, Present, and Future

Over the past few decades, a succession of innovative technologies has revolutionized the surveying industry in the United States. The advent of technological breakthroughs, primarily Computers, GPS, and Internet, have brought about major leaps in the data collection technologies. This paper will document the past, present, and future data collection technologies and their application in the area of travel behavior research. The primary focus of the paper is on current data collection technologies used in survey research in general, including the computer-aided technologies, GPS, and other automated data entry technologies. Some thought is given to emerging technologies such as cellular phone technologies which may influence the gathering of travel behavior details in the future. Recommendations are provided on the methodological design considerations to capture and shape these technologies to meet the needs of travel demand data collection.