Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 21: Networks, From Topology to Dynamics (joint session SOE/BP/DY)
BP 21.8: Talk
Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 17:00–17:15, H45
Formalism and Physical Principles of Human Mobility and Routine — •Marlli Zambrano1, Ashish Thampi2, Alejandra Rincon2, Andrzej Jarynowski1, Steven Schulz2, and Vitaly Belik1 — 1Freie Universität Berlin, Germany — 2Machine Learning Unit, NET CHECK GmbH, Berlin, Germany
The physical principles underlying human mobility have been extensively studied in recent years, enabled by the availability of large-scale mobile phone data. While significant progress has been made in understanding general mobility patterns, capturing the dynamics of individual trajectories, specifically how mobility varies from person to person and day to day, remains challenging due to the need for highly detailed and persistent data. This study addresses this challenge by examining sequences of individual daily mobility motifs, as defined by Schneider et al., from a stochastic process perspective. The analysis uses a persistent mobile phone user panel in Berlin, with high-frequency GPS data collected over four years. Twenty motifs were identified, covering 96% of all observations. The extent of inter- and intra individual variability is explored, focusing on how motifs change within individuals over time and differ between individuals in various contexts (e.g., weekends, seasons). Additionally, sequences of motifs are modeled as a stochastic process, and properties such as transition probabilities are analyzed. These findings provide deeper insights into the variability and structure of human mobility, contributing to a better understanding of individual mobility dynamics.
Keywords: human mobility; mobility motifs; stochastic processes; inter and intra-individual variability; networks dynamics