MASTER · Project

Smart Movement Data Analysis for Tourism, Shipping, and Public Transport

transportPrototypeTRL 3Thin data (2/5)

master-project-h2020.eu

Imagine every phone call, social media check-in, and GPS ping from a ship or bus creates a digital breadcrumb trail. Now multiply that by millions of people and vehicles every day — you get a mountain of movement data that nobody can make sense of. This project built software tools that stitch those breadcrumbs together with context — not just where something moved, but why, when, and what was happening around it. The result is smarter analysis for three real-world areas: understanding tourist flows, tracking ships at sea, and improving public transit routes.

By the numbers

consortium partners across the project

countries represented (Brazil, Canada, Greece, France, Italy)

software prototypes built for different application domains

total project deliverables produced

504,000

EUR in EU funding

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies in tourism, maritime, and public transit sit on massive amounts of movement data — GPS traces, mobile phone signals, social media check-ins, vessel tracking — but lack the tools to combine and analyze it meaningfully. Current methods treat location data as simple dots on a map, ignoring the rich context of why, when, and how objects move, which means lost revenue from poor route planning, missed tourist patterns, and blind spots in maritime surveillance.

The solution

What was built

The project built 3 preliminary software prototypes, one for each application domain: tourism flow analysis, sea vessel monitoring, and public transportation optimization. Across 12 deliverables, the team developed machine learning methods for analyzing trajectory data enriched with contextual and semantic information from sources like social media and mobile phone records.

Audience

Who needs this

Tourism boards and destination management organizations tracking visitor flowsPort authorities and maritime surveillance agencies monitoring vessel movementsPublic transit authorities optimizing bus and rail networksUrban mobility consultancies analyzing city-wide movement patternsRide-sharing and logistics platforms seeking better route intelligence

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Tourism & Destination Management

any

Target: Destination management organizations, tourism boards, and hospitality chains

If you are a tourism board struggling to understand how visitors actually move through your region — this project developed software prototypes that combine GPS traces, social media data, and transport records to map real tourist flows. With 3 working prototypes across different domains, the tools can reveal which attractions cluster together, where bottlenecks form, and how seasonal patterns shift, helping you invest marketing budgets where they actually drive visits.

Maritime & Port Operations

enterprise

Target: Port authorities, shipping companies, and maritime surveillance agencies

If you are a port authority or maritime operator dealing with vessel tracking across busy shipping lanes — this project built trajectory analysis methods specifically for sea monitoring. The software prototypes process massive volumes of ship movement data enriched with contextual information like weather, cargo type, and port schedules. This means better anomaly detection, route optimization, and compliance monitoring across your fleet operations.

Public Transportation

enterprise

Target: Transit authorities, urban mobility planners, and ride-sharing platforms

If you are a transit authority trying to optimize bus and rail networks based on actual passenger movement — this project developed machine learning methods that analyze trajectory data from mobile phones and transit systems together. The 3 software prototypes built across the project's 3 application domains demonstrate how combining spatial, temporal, and behavioral data can reveal underserved routes, peak-hour bottlenecks, and opportunities for schedule improvements.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or adapt this technology?

The project was funded under MSCA-RISE (staff exchange program) with EUR 504,000 in EU funding across 10 partners. Since all partners are universities and research organizations with no commercial entities, licensing would likely go through university technology transfer offices. Costs would depend on negotiation with the coordinating institution, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche in Italy.

Can this scale to handle real-world data volumes from a major city or shipping network?

The project explicitly targeted 'massive amounts of spatio-temporal data' and used big data and machine learning approaches. However, the deliverables describe 'preliminary software prototypes,' suggesting the tools work at demonstration scale. Additional engineering would likely be needed to handle production-level data volumes from a major metropolitan transit system or busy shipping corridor.

Who owns the intellectual property and how can I access it?

IP is held by the consortium of 10 partners across 5 countries (Italy, France, Greece, Brazil, Canada), coordinated by Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy). As a publicly funded MSCA-RISE project, results may be available under open-access terms. Contact the coordinator's technology transfer office for specific licensing arrangements.

Does this comply with GDPR given it processes mobile phone and social media data?

The project processes mobility data from mobile phones and social media, which raises significant data protection considerations under GDPR. Based on available project data, the tools were developed in a research context. Any commercial deployment would require a thorough data protection impact assessment and likely anonymization or pseudonymization of personal movement data.

How long would it take to integrate this into our existing systems?

The project ran from 2018 to 2023 and produced 12 deliverables including 3 software prototypes across tourism, sea monitoring, and public transportation. Since these are described as 'preliminary' prototypes from an academic research program, expect a significant integration and productization effort before deployment in a commercial environment.

Is there ongoing support or a development team behind this?

MSCA-RISE projects fund staff exchanges between organizations, not product development. The project closed in December 2023, and the 10-partner consortium of 8 universities, 1 research body, and 1 other organization was focused on research collaboration. Ongoing development would depend on whether individual partner teams have continued this work or spun out commercial ventures.

Consortium

Who built it

The MASTER consortium is entirely academic — 8 universities, 1 research organization, and 1 other entity across 5 countries, with zero industrial partners and zero SMEs. This is a research network, not a commercialization vehicle. The international spread (Italy, France, Greece, plus Brazil and Canada) brings diverse data sources and research expertise, but the complete absence of industry involvement means the tools were never tested against real commercial requirements. For a business considering this technology, you would be working directly with university labs rather than a technology vendor, which means more flexibility but also more integration risk.

CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHECoordinator · IT
CHAROKOPEIO PANEPISTIMIOparticipant · EL
DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITYpartner · CA
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO CEARApartner · BR
UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIAparticipant · IT
UNIVERSITY OF PIRAEUS RESEARCH CENTERparticipant · EL
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SANTA CATARINA.partner · BR
FACULDADES CATOLICAS ASSOCIACAO SEM FINS LUCRATIVOSpartner · BR
UNIVERSITE DE VERSAILLES SAINT-QUENTIN EN YVELINESparticipant · FR

How to reach the team

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy — reach out through their technology transfer office or the project website contact page

Order a report on this consortium See CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how trajectory analysis could optimize your transport or tourism operations? SciTransfer can connect you with the MASTER research team and help evaluate fit for your specific use case.

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