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.     

The Influence of Landmarks and Pre-exposure to a Structural Map During the Process of Spatial Knowledge Acquisition: A Study with Children and Adults in a Virtual Environment

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of featural information (landmarks) and geometric information (pre-exposure to a structural map) and their possible interaction during the process of spatial knowledge acquisition of 8- and 11-year-old children and adults in a virtual environment. The study confirmed the well-known result of a developmental achievement in spatial cognition from childhood to adulthood. Although landmarks and the pre-exposure to a structural map did not affect the time to learn a specific route, they influenced the use of behavior in spatial learning and eased the acquisition of spatial knowledge measured by a route reversal and map-drawing tasks. Children and adults are able to integrate featural and geometric information in the spatial knowledge acquisition process in an environmental space, but their integration depends on the spatial processing stages that are investigated. Moreover, it was successfully demonstrated that the use of desktop virtual environments seems to be appropriate to investigate the development of spatial cognition.     

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.     

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.     

Environmental reference systems for large-scale spaces

Human navigation in well-known environments is guided by stored memory representations of spatial information. In three experiments (N = 43) we investigated the role of different spatial reference systems when accessing information about familiar objects at different locations in the city in which the participants lived. Our results indicate that two independent reference systems underly the retrieval of spatial knowledge. Environmental characteristics, e.g., the streets at an intersection, determine which headings are easier to imagine at a given location and lead to differences in accessibility of spatial information (orientation-specific behavior). In addition, access to spatial information depends on the relative direction of a location with respect to the imagined heading, such that information about locations imagined in front of oneself is easier to access than about locations towards the back. This influence of an egocentric reference system was found for environmental knowledge as well as map-based knowledge. In light of these reference system effects, position-dependent models of spatial memory for large-scale environments are discussed. To account for the simultaneous effect of an environmental and an egocentric reference system, we present a 2-level model of spatial memory access.     

基于天文和陆标观测的月球卫星自主导航方法

随着我国月球探测工程的开展,为弥补地面测控的局限性,月球卫星的自主导航技术已成为     

北斗地基增强系统国产民机试飞性能评估

由于GPS在国际上的技术和标准优势,目前在民用航空领域使用的星基导航大多为GPS。随着我国民航领域的蓬勃发展和北斗卫星导航系统宣告全球组网成功,亟需开展北斗地基增强系统在民航领域的应用性能评估,以验证其是否可满足民航飞机对卫星导航系统的要求。针对民航飞机的Ⅰ类精密进近过程,梳理了该航段中国际民航组织对卫星导航系统的性能需求,推导了北斗地基增强系统垂直保护级计算数学模型,制定了搭载试飞试验的加改装方案和飞行科目,在国产某型号民机上开展了北斗地基增强系统搭载试飞试验,并对定位精度和垂直保护级进行了分析评估。结果表明：在搭载试飞试验中,北斗地基增强系统可满足Ⅰ类精密进近对卫星导航系统垂直精度的需求,同时系统不存在告警和误警。     

惯性导航/双星组合导航的可行性研究

根据国外惯性导航／卫星组合的研究、发展和应用情况,分析了惯性导航／双星组合的必要性和可实现性;提出了惯性导航／双星组合中存在的主要问题和可能的对策。研究结果表明,惯性导航系统(INS)和双星定位系统的组合是完全必要和可行的;惯性导航／双星组合系统的性能比纯惯性导航有明显提高。     

多传感器组合导航系统研究

设计了一种由INS、GPS和Doppler测速雷达构成的多传感器组合导航系统。采用GPS伪距、伪距率以及Doppler速度与INS组合 ,建立了其卡尔曼滤波方程 ,设计了飞行轨迹 ,给出了惯性元件精度较低时组合系统的仿真输出。仿真结果表明 ,多传感器组合导航系统能有效提高导航精度 ,降低对惯性元件的性能要求 ,是导航系统的发展方向     

惯性/偏振光组合定姿技术研究

惯性导航系统是一种全参数、全天候的自主导航系统,但其姿态误差随时间发散。太阳光在大气中传播时在天空具有稳定的偏振模式,惯性/偏振光组合定姿系统就是利用偏振光中的方位信息实现惯性导航系统姿态角误差的估计。研究了惯性/偏振光组合定姿系统模型,利用跑车试验数据对所设计的组合定姿系统进行了仿真。结果表明:惯性导航系统引入偏振光导航信息后,可以有效地抑制惯性导航姿态角误差发散的趋势,提高姿态精度,满足中等精度姿态参考系统的需求。     

基于光学/脉冲星的木星探测转移段自主组合导航

提出一种基于光学/X脉冲星的木星探测器转移段自主组合导航方案。该方案在探测器转移段动力学模型的基础上,以地球、火星、木星、木星卫星以及X射线脉冲星作为观测目标,从待观测目标的几何分布、视星等以及导航精度几个方面,分析光学自主导航待观测目标的可观测条件和可观测度,优化选取最优的光学观测目标;结合X射线脉冲星观测信息,构建光学/X射线脉冲星组合导航方案;结合无迹卡尔曼滤波算法,应用于木星探测转移段,实现探测器位置和速度估计。从数学仿真结果来看,该组合导航方案状态估计精度显著优于单独使用光学导航或者X脉冲星导航系统。     

GNSS星间链路自主导航技术研究进展及展望

详细介绍了全球四大GNSS系统的星间链路（ISL）发展建设现状,并系统总结了国内外自主导航技术相关的关键性研究问题,得出对我国星间链路建设的启迪,指出我国星间链路自主导航亟需解决的研究重点和发展方向,为我国卫星导航系统的发展建设提供参考。