Abstract
As recommended by the international standards, ISO 21542, ease of wayfinding must be ensured by installing signage at all key decision points on walkways such as forks because signage greatly influences the way in which people unfamiliar with an environment navigate through it. Therefore, we aimed to develop a new system for evaluating the ease of wayfinding, which could detect spots that cause disorientation, i.e., “disorientation spots”, based on simulated three-dimensional (3D) interactions between wayfinding behaviors and signage location, visibility, legibility, noticeability, and continuity. First, an environment model reflecting detailed 3D geometry and textures of the environment, i.e., “as-is environment model”, is generated automatically using 3D laser-scanning and structure-from-motion (SfM). Then, a set of signage entities is created by the user. Thereafter, a 3D wayfinding simulation is performed in the as-is environment model using a digital human model (DHM), and disorientation spots are detected. The proposed system was tested in a virtual maze and a real two-story indoor environment. It was further validated through a comparison of the disorientation spots detected by the simulation with those of six young subjects. The comparison results revealed that the proposed system could detect disorientation spots, where the subjects lost their way, in the test environment.
Highlights
It is increasingly important in our rapidly aging society [1] to perform accessibility evaluations for enhancing the ease and safety of access to indoor and outdoor environments for all people, including the elderly and the disabled
We developed a simulation-based system for evaluating ease of wayfinding using a digital human model (DHM) in an as-is environment model
The following conclusions were drawn from our results:. Our system makes it possible to evaluate the ease of wayfinding by simulating the 3D interactions among the realistic wayfinding behaviors of a DHM, as-is environment model, and realistic signage system
Summary
It is increasingly important in our rapidly aging society [1] to perform accessibility evaluations for enhancing the ease and safety of access to indoor and outdoor environments for all people, including the elderly and the disabled. As recommended in the ISO/IEC Guide 71 [3], accessibility must be assessed considering both the physical and cognitive abilities of individuals. From the cognitive aspect, ease of wayfinding [6] must be assessed to enable people to gain access to destinations in unfamiliar environments. Wayfinding is a basic cognitive response of people trying to find their way to destinations in an unfamiliar environment based on perceived information and their own background knowledge [7]. Visual signage influences the way in which people unfamiliar with an indoor environment navigate through it [8]. As recommended in the guidelines [2], these four types of signage must be arranged appropriately at key decision points considering the relationship between the navigation information on signage and the path structure of the environment. As mentioned in the literature [9], ease of wayfinding must be evaluated considering signage continuity, visibility, and legibility and signage noticeability
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