NetMob 2025 Data Challenge

Join the 2025 Mobility Data Challenge and help explore, understand, and innovate in urban mobility. The goal is to analyze anonymized individual mobility patterns for solutions to address real-world urban and societal challenges.

Introduction

As part of NetMob 2025, the new edition of the Data Challenge continues to celebrate and promote cutting-edge research on human mobility. This year, we invite participants to push the boundaries of mobility science, uncover behavioral insights, and explore innovative approaches to real-world urban challenges.

The challenge is designed to spark creativity, methodological advances, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Whether your background is in data science, transportation, urban studies, or beyond—this is your opportunity to contribute, discover, and make a meaningful impact.

Qstarz BT-Q1000XT GPS device used in the survey For this year’s edition, we are excited to release a unique dataset from a GNSS-based mobility survey conducted in the Île-de-France region (Greater Paris area). Volunteers were equipped with the BT-Q1000XT Bluetooth® A-GPS eXtreme Travel Recorder, a GNSS receiver that determines position and velocity using signals from global navigation satellite systems. This model integrates both DGPS (Differential GPS) for improved positional accuracy and Doppler shift measurements for precise velocity estimation. The result is a high-resolution dataset that captures the mobility behavior of over 3,300 volunteers between October 2022 and May 2023.

All participants provided informed consent for the data collection, which was conducted in accordance with data protection regulations. They carried the tracking device for seven consecutive days and maintained digital (or optional paper) travel diaries. All collected information was anonymized and validated through follow-up phone interviews to ensure accuracy while minimizing intrusiveness.

Participants are encouraged to tackle emerging questions in mobility science: How do urban constraints shape movement patterns? How can machine learning improve multimodal trip detection and activity classification? What inequalities are revealed in access to mobility? Can data fusion help bridge GNSS traces with user-reported travel diaries? Whether focused on behavioral modeling, methodological development, or policy insights, NetMob 2025 provides a unique platform to turn data into meaningful impact.

How to Participate

Participants are invited to explore this data and submit original analyses, models, or insights. All participants must agree to the Terms and Conditions before accessing the data.

Submissions will be evaluated based on clarity, originality, and potential impact. Winners will be awarded access to data resources and their contributions will be visible within the NetMob community.

Challenge format:

Prospective participants shall apply to the challenge in order to gain access to the dataset. Access is subject to acceptance of the challenge’s Terms and Conditions. To request access, please complete the Data Request Form below.
Admitted participants shall submit two-page extended abstracts in PDF format by July 15, 2025. Each submission must include: a title, author(s) and affiliation(s), email address(es) on the first page, a description of preliminary results from the analysis of the dataset, and must comply with the official NetMob 2025 paper template.
Selected participants will be invited to submit by September 10, 2025 a final report consisting of:
- A complete document (no page limits) that will remain confidential and be used to select challenge awardees and to decide whether the work will be presented at the conference as a talk or a poster
- A 2-page summary of the work that will be published in the public NetMob 2025 Book of Abstracts

Important Dates

Challenge launch: June 3, 2025
Abstract submission website opening: June 15, 2025
Two-page extended abstracts submission deadline: July 15, 2025
Notification of acceptance: July 22, 2025
Final abstract submission deadline: September 10, 2025
Notification of presentation and poster: September 15, 2025
Presentation at the conference: October 10, 2025

Dataset Description

The dataset offers a rich, multi-dimensional view of mobility behavior in the Île-de-France region over a continuous 7-day period. It combines high-frequency GNSS traces, verified trip records, and detailed individual-level information for over 3,300 participants.

Geographic scope: Île-de-France (Greater Paris area)
Temporal coverage: October 2022 – May 2023 (excluding holidays)
Tracking duration: 7 consecutive days per participant
Participants: 3,337 individuals aged 16–80
Trip records: 80,697 validated trips
GNSS points: ~500 million high-frequency GPS samples
Formats: CSV (for individuals, trips), compressed formats for raw traces
Joinable keys: All databases are linked via a unique individual ID

The dataset includes:

Individual-level database: sociodemographic, educational, and household info
Trip-level database: 80,000+ verified trips with metadata
Raw GNSS trace dataset: ~500 million GPS points recorded with high resolution

Article describing the NetMob25 dataset (to appear)

Full documentation and data description for the NetMob25 challenge are available on the official GitLab repository . The repository contains detailed instructions, shapefiles, datasets, and usage guidelines.

A full scientific article describing the dataset is to appear.