Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.One section of the general population that can greatly bene t from the current
interest in indoor navigation systems comprises the various disabled groups. In developing
assistive navigation systems an important issue is how to obtain information relevant for navigation
from the perspective of these special user groups. The theory of a ordances coupled
with computer-based simulation o ers a solution for automated extraction of this information
from readily available sources - architectural
oor plans. Simulation of movement in space
can be used to derive a user-relative selection of accessible space by comparing the degree of
match between the geometrical demands of navigation and the relevant physical properties
of the environment. We also investigate what is the right level of representation of the environment
for running the simulations as well as deriving higher-level networks of places and
their connections that facilitate orientation and the interaction between user and navigation
system
