Vanessa Joy A. Anacta

Transitional Spaces: Between Indoor and Outdoor Spaces

Traditionally, spaces have been classified as being located either indoors or outdoors. On closer inspection, however, this distinction is not as clear cut as usually assumed. For example, when navigating complex urban landscapes, pedestrians frequently traverse tunnels, enclosed footbridges or partially roofed courtyards. In this paper, we investigate this type of spaces between indoor and outdoor areas. We present an initial definition of transitional spaces based on a conceptual analysis, and then report on results from an empirical study with 103 pedestrians, whom we interviewed in an urban area. A statistical and linguistic analysis of the outcomes of the study provides evidence for the existence of transitional spaces and their use. The outcomes also support an initial set of characteristics and properties that further clarify these areas. The results pave the way for the further investigation of transitional spaces, e.g. in terms of providing effective navigation support through them.

Men to the east and women to the right: wayfinding with verbal route instruction

In this paper, we investigate the outdoor wayfinding performance of men and women in a shifting frame of reference with verbal route instructions given in German language. This study replicated the methodology of Ishikawa and Kiyomoto (2008) but investigated also the gender component. The participants were divided into absolute-relative (A-R) and relative-absolute (R-A) groups. They had to follow ten routes: The A-R group walked the first set of five routes with instructions given in absolute frame of reference which shifted to instructions in relative frame of reference. The R-A group, on the other hand, walked the first set of five routes with relative instructions and shifted to an absolute reference frame. In the experiment, the results showed that participants in both groups had difficulty following the absolute instructions wherein they had significantly more stops, more deviations and travelled longer off-route. The overall performance increase of participants who started with an absolute and shifted to a relative reference frame was higher than the performance decrease of participants who started with a relative and shifted to an absolute reference frame. In terms of gender, the wayfinding performance of both, men and women, was significantly better with instructions in relative than in absolute reference frame. Women made fewer stops, fewer deviations, and did not walk off the route as frequently as men. However, the gender effect was not significant.

Wayfinding Through Orientation

ABSTRACT Dominant approaches in computer-assisted wayfinding support adhere to the deeply problematic principles of turn-by-turn navigation. In this article, we suggest a new approach called “Wayfinding Through Orientation,” which supports the acquisition of spatial knowledge and cognitive mapping for advancing the user’s spatial orientation. Being oriented on one’s way is a prerequisite to enabling people to verify instructions and to incorporate new spatial information into their existing knowledge structure. In three studies described in this article we first present empirical evidence that people can be supported in survey knowledge acquisition through suitable wayfinding instructions. Consequently, we explore orientation information in human wayfinding instructions. Finally, we outline how orientation information can be communicated within a prototypically implemented navigation assistance system.

Investigating Representations of Places with Unclear Spatial Extent in Sketch Maps

This study analyzes different ways of representing vaguely defined places from a set of sketch maps specifically when used in giving route instructions. A total of 30 participants who are familiar with the study area were asked to sketch a route map consisting of pre-identified set of places. The task involved two groups: intra-city route and inter-city route. Sketch maps were analyzed using a previously developed classification scheme to investigate how places with unclear spatial extent are represented. These were then classified into different category of places: district, site and neighborhood. Results showed that labels and regular shapes are the most preferred, as opposed to other types of sketch representations, regardless of the category of place. It also occurred that a specific place can be classified under one or more categories, which influences the type of sketch representation used.

Routes to Remember: Comparing Verbal Instructions and Sketch Maps

Sketch maps of routes have been widely used to externalize human spatial knowledge and to study wayfinding behavior. However, specific studies on what information and how people recall route information they obtain from verbal instructions by drawing sketch maps are limited. This chapter aims to know how much information, especially landmarks and streets, people recall after following a wayfinding task. We conducted an experiment and asked participants to draw a sketch map of the route they travelled. Landmarks were classified based on their locations on the route. Sketch maps were compared with verbal instructions to analyze what specific landmarks and street information people recalled as well as what other information was added. Our study showed that (1) landmarks along the route were sketched as often as landmarks located at decision points; (2) participants added landmarks and streets which were not mentioned in the verbal instructions. This chapter provides a better understanding of wayfinding strategies and spatial learning.

Distinguishing Sketch Map Types: A Flexible Feature-Based Classification

Sketch maps are often used as a means of assessing participants’ knowledge of spatial environments. However, the evaluation of sketch maps is challenging as they differ in many aspects and can be scored on many possible criteria. In particular, the classification of sketch maps into different types can be problematic, because participants rarely follow any of the identifiable formats consistently. This paper presents a set of criteria that can be used to score a sketch map on two dimensions simultaneously: its “route-likeness” and its “survey-likeness”. The scoring is based on the presence or absence of six features for route-conveying information and six features of conveying survey information. In the present study, reliability estimates and factor structure of the approach were examined with 460 sketch maps with a high variability of spatial elements included. Results show that the two dimensions are largely independent. Sketch maps are found that score high on the route dimensions but low on the survey dimension and vice versa, as well as sketch maps that score high (or low) on both dimensions. It is concluded that the proposed two-dimensional scoring is useful for analysing sketch maps, however, results will also depend on the task and instruction when assessing participants’ knowledge of spatial environments.

Spatial Distribution of Local Landmarks in Route-Based Sketch Maps

Landmarks are important elements in route instructions communicated for wayfinding in unfamiliar environments. This paper aims to investigate the distribution of local landmarks in human sketch maps provided for wayfinding purpose. We investigated sets of route instructions given by student participants who were asked to give directions in environments that they are very familiar with to someone unfamiliar. These environments differ in size as well as their relation to city centers. In particular, one route goes into the city, one route goes through the city center, and the third route ranges between two cities. The results show that local landmarks are distributed differently in each route and showing high density of landmarks at some portions of the route. The study further clarifies the distribution of landmarks along routes with relation to the length of the route. It also contributes to the work concerning the cognitive aspects of wayfinding with a specific focus on the distribution of landmarks in route instructions.

Landmark-Based Navigation in Cognitive Systems

The current special issue of KI Journal brings together a collection of articles related to landmark-based navigation. This includes the problems of identifying suitable landmark candidates in a scalable manner, selecting landmarks which are relevant to the navigating agent, communicating their presence on maps, and integrating them into location-based services.

Can You Follow Your Own Route Directions: How Familiarity and Spatial Abilities Influence Spatial Performance and Sketch Maps

Verbal route descriptions are common in our daily lives that give us wayfinding directions. They also are important in cognitive research as they lend insight on processes associated with wayfinding. This paper reports a study that investigates the influence of familiarity and spatial abilities on acquiring spatial knowledge from verbal route directions. The familiarity of the participant was removed by replacing all names of spatial entities in the route instructions given by the same person. Specifically, the types of acquired spatial knowledge addressed are direction, distance, and configurational aspects of sketched maps. Results show that familiarity plays a crucial role on acquisition of spatial knowledge at the survey level. In particular, familiarity leads to fewer errors in directional estimation, but overestimation of distance. Spatial abilities further influence one’s knowledge of distance such that higher spatial abilities lead to more accurate distance estimation in new environments. With that said, lower spatial abilities do not contribute to distance estimation in both familiar and new environments. Furthermore, measures on sketch maps show that familiarity does not lead to dramatically different sketch maps while variation exist. These results also point out the necessity of follow-up studies to address the orientation specificity in familiar and unfamiliar environment.