The Landmark Spider: Representing Landmark Knowledge for Wayfinding Tasks

Reasoning with Mental and External Diagrams: Computational Modeling and Spatial Assistance

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Reasoning with Mental and External Diagrams: Computational Modeling and Spatial Assistance

Contents

Mobile navigation systems are important assets for travelers visiting foreign environments, as they provide instructions on how to find the way to get to a chosen destination. Research has shown that finding ones way in a foreign environment is primarily based on cues in the environment. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that generates the clearest route in terms of spatial references and use the selected landmarks to describe the route. Wayfinding is dynamic in nature and as wayfinders move along, the cues used as reference points change, hence, raising the need for route generation methods that account for motion. Our model generalizes this dynamic task and selects spatial cues based on distance and orientation of the navigator with respect to the landmark, and the salience of spatial objects. The results of this process are represented in a spatio-analogical fashion, which diagrammatically supports wayfinding decisions.