Is Memory for Routes Enhanced by an Environment's Richness in Visual Landmarks?

We tested the hypothesis that a route's memorability is dependent on the frequency with which people are exposed to visual landmarks. Undergraduates learned either a route through an urban area lacking visually salient features, or a route in a neighborhood with many shops and urban objects. They were then asked to recall the learned route in the form of route directions and sketch maps. The results showed higher recall performance for the richer environment. When presented with photographs depicting scenes along the route, participants exposed to the richer environment had higher recognition scores and shorter response times than the others. The data confirm the functional role of landmarks in route memory and wayfinding.     

Variable Granularity in Route Directions

Abstract

This paper addresses changes of spatial granularity in route directions in relation to information needs in multimodal traveling. We outline a model of variability in granularity and apply this model to empirical data. Results reveal that linguistic route directions produced by humans as well as automatically generated web-based services provide the most crucial route elements in hierarchically structured ways that reflect the salient structure imposed by multimodal traveling. However, although the web-based information is impressively comprehensive, human route directions exhibit more flexibility regarding switches of place-related granularity, and they provide more detailed information at complex locations or decision points.     

Landmarks on the move: Producing and understanding references to moving landmarks

There is a general agreement that landmarks in route directions should be perceptually salient and stable objects. Yet, other attributes, such as (animated) motion, can also attract visual attention and make entities salient. In the present study, we investigate if and when speakers refer to moving entities in route directions and how listeners evaluate such instructions. We asked speakers to watch short videos of different crossroads with and without moving landmarks and give directions to listeners, who in turn had to choose a street on which to continue (Experiment 1) or choose the instruction they most preferred among three route directions (Experiment 2). Results reveal that speakers mentioned moving entities, especially when the trajectory was informative for the place where a turn should be taken (Experiment 1). Listeners had no problem understanding instructions with moving landmarks (Experiment 1). Yet, participants chose instructions with stable landmarks more often (Experiment 2). These results are discussed in relation to automatic route directions generation.     

Dysfunctions of Spatial Cognition in Schizophrenic Patients

ABSTRACT

Twenty outpatients who fulfilled the criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia and 28 control participants were invited to learn a route through a complex outdoor environment. They were then tested in tasks intended to explore various aspects of their memorized representation of the navigational episode. Compared to controls, the patients showed significant impairment in both the verbal production of route directions and the drawing of sketch maps. They referred to fewer landmarks and provided fewer directional instructions than the controls, while making a greater number of irrelevant comments. When invited to distinguish between photographs showing views of landmarks encountered along the route and distractors, they performed as well as the controls, and they had similar response times. However, when they were presented with pairs of actual photographs taken along the route, they displayed special difficulty in deciding which of the two landmarks was encountered first along the route. This difficulty in retrieving the sequential structure of the navigational episode suggests that the patients' memories were not accurately linked to one another in their mental representation of the route. These findings are interpreted in the context of current hypotheses about the hippocampal impairment that affects schizophrenic patients.     

Learning Routes from Visualizations for Indoor Wayfinding: Presentation Modes and Individual Differences

Abstract

Participants (N = 78) studied a visualization of a route through a complex building and walked that route in the real building without further assistance. Erroneous turns on the route as well as indicators of uncertainty such as hesitations were assessed. Three types of route visualizations were compared: (1) an allocentric, map-based visualization with the route indicated in floor maps, (2) an ordered sequence of pictures of decision points shown from the egocentric perspective, and (3) an animation showing a virtual walk of the route from the egocentric perspective. In addition to the experimental variation, gender differences, differences in visual-spatial abilities and differences in self-reported wayfinding strategies were considered as predictor variables. Wayfinding performance did not differ between allocentric (map) and egocentric (decision point pictures and animation) visualizations. However, wayfinding performance was better with animated than with static egocentric visualizations. Individual differences in the ability to encode visual-spatial information from the visualization played a critical role for route learning. Self-reported sense of direction related to egocentric wayfinding strategies also predicted wayfinding performance. Gender differences were attributable to differences in visual-spatial abilities and egocentric wayfinding strategies. Interactions between visualizations and individual differences were not found. It is concluded that animations of virtual walks are suitable to convey route information in complex buildings. Successful acquisition of route knowledge from maps is possible but might depend on the comprehensibility of the structure of the building.     

The New Generation of Automatic Landmark Detection Systems: Challenges and Guidelines

Abstract

Landmarks are salient objects in an environment. They play an important role in navigation by serving as orientation aids and marking decision points. Recently, there have been several efforts to design methods to automatically designate certain buildings with salient features as landmarks. All of these methodologies consist of similar steps: (a) establishing a neighborhood, usually around an intersection, (b) performing statistical or data mining analysis to find the building with outlier characteristics, and (c) establishing this salient building as the local landmark. Although these advances are significant, we believe that there are still several key issues that need to be fully addressed in order to realize the new generation of Automatic Landmark Detection Systems (ALDSs). Currently, the main shortcomings in the domain of ALDSs is the lack of a thorough and systematic study of attributes of objects that are analyzed to select landmarks, and deficient experimental verification of the benefits of ALDSs to the end users. Unless, these shortcomings are thoroughly addressed, the viability, applicability, and usefulness of ALDSs are uncertain. On the other hand, automatic landmark detection has the potential to be a dynamic, fascinating, and interdisciplinary research topic with wide applicability. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to discuss the current shortcomings in the domain of landmark detection, propose some preliminary solutions, and provide general guidelines for implementation of the new generation of ALDSs. Specifically, we discuss and promote the importance of: (a) widening the types of attributes analyzed in the landmark detection process, (b) weighting each attribute relative to its significance, (c) extending the types of objects considered as landmark candidates beyond just buildings, (d) identifying landmarks outside the vicinity of intersections, (e) identifying false landmarks along routes, and (f) using virtual environments for experiments with ALDSs. Throughout the paper, we discuss several demonstrative examples and experiments to clarify and support the ideas and concepts that are being promoted.     

Learning relative directions between landmarks in a desktop virtual environment

This study presents two experiments that examine howindividuals learn relative directions betweenlandmarks in a desktop virtual environment. Subjectswere presented snapshot images of different virtualenvironments containing distinguishing landmarks anda road network. Following the presentation of eachvirtual environment, subjects were given a relativedirection test. The relative direction test involvedindicating the direction of hidden landmarks fromdifferent vantage points in the environment. Half ofthese vantage points were presented during thelearning phase, while the other half were novel.Results showed that subjects learned relativedirections between landmarks equally well when sceneswere presented in either a sequential or random order.Furthermore, viewing a configuration of landmarks ina desktop virtual environment from multipleperspectives produced a viewpoint dependentrepresentation in memory. Subjects had significantlygreater response times for new viewing perspectives,as compared to previously viewed scenes. Thisviewpoint dependent representation of the environmentpersisted despite learning under conditions ofspatio-temporal discontinuity and changes to anenvironmental frame of reference.     

Wayfinding Through Orientation

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.     

Collaborative Navigation in an Unfamiliar Environment with People Having Different Spatial Aptitudes

This study addressed the issue of collaborative navigation by examining the types of information communicated in the processes of direction giving and receiving between people who guided each other simultaneously to a destination over the cell phone in a novel environment. When paired with a partner whose sense of direction differed greatly from their own, people found the collaboration difficult and took a longer time to verbally direct the partner to the destination. Landmarks that people used in giving navigational instructions differed depending on sense of direction. People with a good sense of direction adjusted route directions to their partners' wayfinding ability. Results from a detailed qualitative analysis of participants' verbal protocols and implications for personalized navigation tools are discussed.     

Influence of Map Design,Individual Differences,and Environmental Cues on Wayfinding Performance

This exploratory study investigated the effects of map design, individual differences, and environmental cues on wayfinding performance in an outdoor recreational area. Six maps, with three contour representations and two color codes, were used to determine how map design influences wayfinding. Four individual differences: gender, experience in map usage (experience vs. novice), handedness, and cultural difference (local vs. international), were used to predict wayfinding performance. The study area consisted of a trail park with ten junctions, where three of the junctions had signs, as environmental cues to aid users. Multiple regression analyses and logistic regression analysis were performed to predict the total time of completion, time for decision-making, accuracy of decision-making, and total time deviated from route. Results showed that only cultural difference and signage significantly predicted decisionmaking accuracy, and cultural difference was a significant predictor of total time deviated from route. Design implications for use of cues and wayfinding are discussed. In addition, recommendations for maps, trail networks, and environmental design are provided.     

Wayfinding Performance in and the Spatial Knowledge of a Color-coded Building for Adults and Children

The study reported here investigates the effect color has on the performance in a wayfinding task,the wayfinding strategies used and the acquisition of survey knowledge of a total of sixty participants: twenty second graders,sixth graders, and adults each. All participants had to find their way to a goal in a virtual environment with either a colored or a gray ground. After that,they had to find the shortest way from the start position to the goal in two consecutive trials,to draw a sketch map of the maze,and to mark the position of the goal figure in an overview of the maze. The results showed that color helped all participants to improve their performance in the wayfinding task, influenced the use of some wayfinding strategies but did not improve the acquisition of survey knowledge. Furthermore, there was a developmental achievement from second graders to adults. The results implicate firstly that children and adults similarly rely on the structuring of space through color when navigating through an unfamiliar large-scale environment,and secondly that there is a dissociation between wayfinding behavior and spatial knowledge.     

Exploring Regional Variation in Spatial Language Using Spatially Stratified Web-Sampled Route Direction Documents

Spatial language, such as route directions, can be analyzed to shed light on how humans communicate and conceptualize spatial knowledge. This article details a computational linguistic approach using route directions to study regional variations in spatial language. We developed a web-sourcing approach to collect human-generated route direction documents on a geographical scale. Specifically, we built the Spatially strAtified Route Direction (SARD) Corpus through automated scraping, classifying, and georeferencing of route directions. Based on semantic categories of cardinal and relative direction terms, the analysis of the SARD Corpus reveals significant differences and patterns on both national (United States, United Kingdom, and Australia) and regional (contiguous U.S. states) levels. Combining computational linguistics and georeferencing approaches offers the potential for extending classic spatial linguistic studies.     

Influence of estimation errors on wayfinding-decisions in unknown street networks – analyzing the least-angle strategy

The least-angle strategy is a common wayfinding method that can be applied in unknown environments if the target direction is known. The strategy is based on the navigator's heuristic to select the street segment at an intersection which is most in line with the target direction. To use this strategy, the navigator needs to know the angles between the target direction and the street segments leading out from the intersection. If the direct view to the target is blocked and the target vector cannot be perceived, the target direction that is needed for the decision process is based on the agent's believed position and orientation (estimated through path integration). The agent's believed position and target direction are distorted by human errors in estimation of distances and directions, mainly affecting the path integration process. In this paper we examine how human estimation errors of distance and rotation influence the decision behavior in the wayfinding process in an unknown street environment. To demonstrate the geometrical consequences for a specific test case, we use a simulated software agent which navigates in a simulated street environment.     

Taxonomy of Human Wayfinding Tasks: A Knowledge-Based Approach

Abstract

Although the term “Wayfinding” has been defined by several authors, it subsumes a whole set of tasks that involve different cognitive processes, drawing on different cognitive components. Research on wayfinding has been conducted with different paradigms using a variety of wayfinding tasks. This makes it difficult to compare the results and implications of many studies. A systematic classification is needed in order to determine and investigate the cognitive processes and structural components of how humans solve wayfinding problems. Current classifications of wayfinding distinguish tasks on a rather coarse level or do not take the navigator's knowledge, a key factor in wayfinding, into account. We present an extended taxonomy of wayfinding that distinguishes tasks by external constraints as well as by the level of spatial knowledge that is available to the navigator. The taxonomy will help to decrease ambiguity of wayfinding tasks and it will facilitate understanding of the differentiated demands a navigator faces when solving wayfinding problems.     

Route generation and description using the notions of object's influence area and spatial conceptual map

In the GRAAD Project we aimed at creatinga system which could generate route directions thatare comparable to route directions created by humanparticipants. With this goal in mind, we started froma linguistic and cognitive study of route directionsproduced by people and the study of cognitive modelsof mental maps. We proposed a new qualitative spatialmodel that can support the spatial properties of humanroute directions. This model is based on the notion ofobject's influence area which is used to modelneighborhood, orientation and distance. The proposedapproach relies on the manipulation of spatialentities in a spatial conceptual map (SCM) which isthe computarized analog of a mental map used bypeople. We developped the GRAAD System, software thatgenerates routes in a SCM and describes them innatural language. Finally, we conducted an experimentin order to compare GRAAD's route directions androutes described by human participants in similarexperimental conditions. GRAAD's output was notdistinguishable from route directions created by humanparticipants. In this paper we present the mainresults obtained during all phases of the GRAADProject.