Route schematization with landmarks

Predominant navigation applications make use of a turn-by-turn instructions approach and are mostly supported by small screen devices. This combination does little to improve users\u27 orientation or spatial knowledge acquisition. Considering this limitation, we propose a route schematization method aimed for small screen devices to facilitate the readability of route information and survey knowledge acquisition. Current schematization methods focus on the route path and ignore context information, specially polygonal landmarks (such as lakes, parks, and regions), which is crucial for promoting orientation. Our schematization method, in addition to the route path, takes as input: adjacent streets, point-like landmarks, and polygonal landmarks. Moreover, our schematic route map layout highlights spatial relations between route and context information, improves the readability of turns at decision points, and the visibility of survey information on small screen devices. The schematization algorithm combines geometric transformations and integer linear programming to produce the maps. The contribution of this paper is a method that produces schematic route maps with context information to support the user in wayfinding and orientation

How the Visitors’ Cognitive Engagement Is Driven (but Not Dictated) by the Visibility and Co-visibility of Art Exhibits

Datasets for the following paper by Krukar and Conroy Dalton doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.0035

Are Psychological Variables Relevant to Evaluating Geoinformatics Applications? The Case of Landmarks (Vision Paper)

Interdisciplinary integration of spatial cognition and spatial computation promises to create better spatial technology based on findings from cognitive psychology experiments. Using the example of psychological studies and computational modelling of landmarks, this paper argues that core evaluation criteria of both disciplines are not well aligned with the goal of evaluating landmark-enhanced navigation support systems that support users in everyday wayfinding. The paper raises two points. First, it reviews evaluation criteria used in the interdisciplinary field of landmark research. It is argued that when to consider the role of landmark-enhanced navigation support systems in everyday life of their users, different evaluation criteria are needed. If strictly-psychological or strictly-computational criteria continue being prioritised by the community, we risk undervaluing significant technological contributions. Second, it proposes one such potential criterion: testing whether the cognitive task has changed due to equipping users with the new technology. This goal might be achieved at the expense of criteria typical to strictly-psychological studies (such as spatial memory of landmarks along the travelled route) or strictly-computational studies (such as efficiency and accuracy of a landmark-selection algorithm). Thus, promoting and implementing alternative evaluation criteria comes with methodological risks. In order to mitigate them we propose a process based on pre-registration of "postdiction" studies and hope to stimulate a further debate on a consensus-based approach in the community

Walk, look, remember: Art galleries as spaces facilitating attention and memory

The spatial organisation of museums has been a subject of numerous studies. Previous research, however, despite reporting some actual behavioural correlates, rarely had the possibility to investigate the cognitive processes of the visitors. In the museum context, where spatial layout is one of the most powerful curatorial tools available, we focus on measuring attention and memory as a means of establishing whether the gallery fulfils its function as a space for contemplating art. In the experiment, 32 participants split into 2 groups explored an experimental, non-public exhibition space whilst wearing a portable eye-tracking device and completed two unanticipated memory tests. The results show that some spatial characteristics of an exhibition can inhibit recall of pictures and shift the focus to perceptual salience of the artworks

Towards capturing focal/ambient attention during dynamic wayfinding

Code complementing this paper: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3379157.339141

The effect of orientation instructions on the recall and reuse of route and survey elements in wayfinding descriptions

Data and code for https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.10140