Understanding Space: the nascent synthesis of cognition and the syntax of spatial morphologies

24-28 September, 200

A Conceptual Model of Exploration Wayfinding: An Integrated Theoretical Framework and Computational Methodology

This thesis is an attempt to integrate contending cognitive approaches to modeling wayfinding behavior. The primary goal is to create a plausible model for exploration tasks within indoor environments. This conceptual model can be extended for practical applications in the design, planning, and Social sciences. Using empirical evidence a cognitive schema is designed that accounts for perceptual and behavioral preferences in pedestrian navigation. Using this created schema, as a guiding framework, the use of network analysis and space syntax act as a computational methods to simulate human exploration wayfinding in unfamiliar indoor environments. The conceptual model provided is then implemented in two ways. First of which is by updating an existing agent-based modeling software directly. The second means of deploying the model is using a spatial interaction model that distributed visual attraction and movement permeability across a graph-representation of building floor plans

A gamification-based approach on indoor wayfinding research

Indoor environments can be very complex. Due to the challenges in these environments in combination with the absence of mobile wayfinding aids, a great need exists for innovative research on indoor wayfinding. In this explorative study, a game was developed in Unity to investigate whether the concept of gamification could be used in studies on indoor wayfinding so as to provide useful information regarding the link between wayfinding performance, personal characteristics, and building layout. Results show a significant difference between gamers and non-gamers as the complexity of the player movement has an important impact on the navigation velocity in the game. However, further analysis reveals that the architectural layout also has an impact on the navigation velocity and that wrong turns in the game are influenced by the landmarks at the decision points: navigating at deeper decision points in convex spaces is slower and landmarks of the categories pictograms and infrastructural were more effective in this particular building. Therefore, this explorative study, which provides an approach for the use of gamification in indoor wayfinding research, has shown that serious games could be successfully used as a medium for data acquisition related to indoor wayfinding in a virtual environment

Navigating in multi-level buildings: the effect of rotation

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On the right track : comfort and confusion in indoor environments

Indoor navigation systems are not well adapted to the needs of their users. The route planning algorithms implemented in these systems are usually limited to shortest path calculations or derivatives, minimalizing Euclidian distance. Guiding people along routes that adhere better to their cognitive processes could ease wayfinding in indoor environments. This paper examines comfort and confusion perception during wayfinding by applying a mixed-method approach. The aforementioned method combined an exploratory focus group and a video-based online survey. From the discussions in the focus group, it could be concluded that indoor wayfinding must be considered at different levels: the local level and the global level. In the online survey, the focus was limited to the local level, i.e., local environmental characteristics. In this online study, the comfort and confusion ratings of multiple indoor navigation situations were analyzed. In general, the results indicate that open spaces and stairs need to be taken into account in the development of a more cognitively-sounding route planning algorithm. Implementing the results in a route planning algorithm could be a valuable improvement of indoor navigation support

DESIGN CORRELATES OF PATIENTS' TRAVEL EXPERIENCE AND SATISFACTION IN THE HOSPITALS OF BANGLADESH

Understanding patients' experience is important for designing patient centered healthcare environments. Patients get their first impressions of the healthcare experience from the environment, which may affect their healthcare expectations even before receiving any services. Studies on patients' satisfaction have shown that the physical environment of hospitals can directly or indirectly affect patients' experience and the perceived quality of care. Very few of these studies, however, show how environmental variables affect patients' experience and satisfaction in wayfinding situations in hospitals. Even fewer studies look at this issue in the hospitals of developing countries, where the quality of care is a big concern. Therefore, this study focuses on patients' experience in wayfinding situations in the hospitals of Bangladesh. The study uses data collected from 349 male and female patients in the outpatient departments of six regional hospitals of Bangladesh. The data include 180 hours of field observation of wayfinding behaviors over a period of six weeks, patients' interviews using a pre-coded questionnaire, and the floor layout analysis that included the measurement of actual route distance, travel distance, and spatial network distances. The findings of the study suggest that patients' travel experiences may depend on patients' interpretations of a situation based on psychological processes, social factors and the environmental variables of the settings. Among the environmental variables that seem to have affected patients' experience and satisfaction more in the outpatient departments of Bangladeshi hospitals are included the identification and directional signage elements, the location of information desks, and the proximity of necessary functions. These findings should help hospital designers and administrators make hospitals more patient-friendly in Bangladesh and elsewhere

Evaluation of Multi-Level Cognitive Maps for Supporting Between-Floor Spatial Behavior in Complex Indoor Environments

People often become disoriented when navigating in complex, multi-level buildings. To efficiently find destinations located on different floors, navigators must refer to a globally coherent mental representation of the multi-level environment, which is termed a multi-level cognitive map. However, there is a surprising dearth of research into underlying theories of why integrating multi-level spatial knowledge into a multi-level cognitive map is so challenging and error-prone for humans. This overarching problem is the core motivation of this dissertation. We address this vexing problem in a two-pronged approach combining study of both basic and applied research questions. Of theoretical interest, we investigate questions about how multi-level built environments are learned and structured in memory. The concept of multi-level cognitive maps and a framework of multi-level cognitive map development are provided. We then conducted a set of empirical experiments to evaluate the effects of several environmental factors on users’ development of multi-level cognitive maps. The findings of these studies provide important design guidelines that can be used by architects and help to better understand the research question of why people get lost in buildings. Related to application, we investigate questions about how to design user-friendly visualization interfaces that augment users’ capability to form multi-level cognitive maps. An important finding of this dissertation is that increasing visual access with an X-ray-like visualization interface is effective for overcoming the disadvantage of limited visual access in built environments and assists the development of multi-level cognitive maps. These findings provide important human-computer interaction (HCI) guidelines for visualization techniques to be used in future indoor navigation systems. In sum, this dissertation adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining theories from the fields of spatial cognition, information visualization, and HCI, addressing a long-standing and ubiquitous problem faced by anyone who navigates indoors: why do people get lost inside multi-level buildings. Results provide both theoretical and applied levels of knowledge generation and explanation, as well as contribute to the growing field of real-time indoor navigation systems

Measuring Discoverability in Buildings Using Spatial Analysis and Occupant Surveys: A Study of the UWM Union

The architectural layout of a building influences the way people experience it. The more complex the layout, the overall size, the number of floors, and the more discrete spaces they contain, the harder it may be for people to discover the destinations and experiences that are available inside them. This is important because the more people are aware of what the building has to offer, the more likely they are to take advantage of these resources. This dissertation addresses the question: How do the layouts of buildings affect the potential of discoverability of places within them? This study introduces and develops the concept of discoverability as a critical imperative for the design of complex buildings. Discovery of spaces within buildings may be influenced by a variety of factors, including their location, visibility, the particular need the setting serves, word-of-mouth or hearing from others, and marketing efforts through signs, posters, or emails. Although each of these factors are important, this research focuses especially on the relationship between the visibility of a place and its discoverability. The study tries to develop a quantifiable definition for discoverability based on the measures derived from architectural analysis. The study evaluates three methods for measuring building configuration and visual accessibility: space syntax, visual graph analysis, and isovist analysis. Each approach offers benefits as well as shortcomings, the most important of which is their exclusive use of two-dimensional plan analysis. Thus, this study also introduces a new method for three-dimensional visual analysis using a Grasshopper script to produce a three-dimensional isovists. The result of the visibility analysis of the building was compared to the results from an online survey of students that assessed how they experience the Union and their familiarity with different areas inside this building. Results from the survey showed that the visibility of a place is the most important factor involved in its discovery. Comparing survey results with visibility analysis results also revealed that among the different methods, axial line analysis, derived through space syntax could best correlate with students’ responses about whether or not they discovered a place in the Union. The study also found that step depth, derived through visual graph analysis, is another important factor in the discoverability of places. The study provides an operational definition for discoverability based on these two concepts that can be used to measure how discoverable places are. The study also found that there was a relationship between the number of places that students had discovered in the Union and their perception of involvement opportunities in campus activities. This is an important finding which emphasized the importance of studying discoverability in complex settings like student union buildings

A systematic review of factors influencing signage salience in indoor environments

Wayfinding signage is an intermediary public facility that coordinates the relationship between space and people, and it is crucial to help people find their way in complex indoor environments. In people’s cognitive behaviour towards wayfinding signs, the visual salience of the signs is the prerequisite and key to ensuring their effective operation. This paper aims to review published research articles on the effect of indoor environments on the saliency of wayfinding signs. The literature review was conducted by PICO methodology to formulate the research question and develop search strategies. Relevant research articles were identified by systematically searching electronic databases, including Web of Science, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and EBSCO. This paper summarises two categories of factors influencing signage salience: (1) floor plan factors and (2) environmental factors. This study examined and condensed the attributes of wayfinding signage and their impact on how pedestrians perceive visuals while navigating. Exploring the elements that influence the visual prominence of indoor signs enhances our comprehension of how pedestrians engage with visually guided information indoors. Furthermore, this offers a theoretical foundation for the realm of indoor wayfinding