PALMS+User+Guide+-+PALMS+Calculation+-+Release+4


 * Release 4 of the PALMS Calculation contains numerous changes that have been requested by PALMS users.**

The following changes have been made in the output of Release R4 of the PALMS calculation:
 * 1 ) Additional Variables available in Release R4**
 * GPS
 * Information previously encoded as strings in the fixType column now appears as integers in individual columns: fixTypeCode, iov, tripType, tripMOT, locationClusterFlag.
 * fixType column is kept for backwards compatibility
 * In-vehicle mode added to indoor / outdoor estimation
 * Speed changed from integer to decimal
 * Additional GPS columns have been added: pdop, hdop, vdop
 * Accelerometer
 * Columns for all three axis and vector magnitude (if available)
 * Column for step count (if available)
 * Sedentary bouts moved to separate column
 * For ActiGraph devices
 * Columns for lux, lux intensity and incline
 * Heart Rate Processing
 * Add "invalid" value (indicates device as not worn)
 * Individual columns for raw and filtered heart rate
 * Events (event number and event type)
 * Day of Week column added

Details are in this document:


 * 2) New Parameters added to parameter block**
 * Several changes have been made to the GPS Tab to increase the accuracy of GPS processing. These are discussed in the next section.
 * Moved "compute averages" section in GPS Tab to the end of the tab.
 * The Accelerometer tab contains the option to use the Vector Magnitude value provided by 3-axis accelerometers.
 * The EE Formula has been updated to include use of the Vector Magnitude.
 * A tab has been added for Lux processing. (Lux refers to light levels recorded by some ActiGraph devices.)
 * The Merge Tab enables insertion of missing GPS fixes for a specified period of time. It also enables events to be marked in the output file.

Details are on this page: PALMS User's Guide - Calculation Parameters (R4)


 * 3) Changes in GPS Processing**


 * Improved accuracy in classifying modes-of-transportation and detecting changes in modes.
 * Improved filtering of "false" trips caused by GPS jitter while indoors and stationary
 * Locations common to multiple participants will be assigned the same location number
 * Can specify the amount of time that must be spent at a location
 * Default removal of locations without a corresponding trip (can be overridden, if desired)
 * Additional options for trapping points to a location


 * 4) KML exporter now included layer of stationary points (organized by day)**
 * By displaying points marked as stationary, you can often find trips that were not detected by PALMS.