Predictability

This study reveals that human travel patterns are highly predictable, driven by basic needs and social influences, and shaped by factors from personal preferences to global disruptions like pandemics. By examining variations in time, activity, and location—known as "predictability states"—the research identifies unique contextual and activity signatures, which could improve short- and long-term mobility predictions, even with limited or incomplete data.

In this paper, we apply entropy and predictability measures to analyse and bound the predictive information of an individual's mobility pattern and the flow of that information from their top social ties and from their non-social colocators.