Abstract
Automated route guidance systems, both web-based systems and en-route systems, have become commonplace in recent years. These systems often replace human- generated directions, which are often incomplete, vague, or in error. However, human- generated directions have the ability to differentiate between easy and complex steps through language in a way that is more difficult in automated systems. This article examines a set of human-generated verbal directions to better understand why some parts of directions are perceived as being more difficult than the remaining steps. Insights from this analysis will lead to recommendations to improve the next generation of automated route guidance systems.
Highlights
When giving route directions, it is not unusual for people to use an expression like “this is the tricky part” when they expect that the recipient might have particular difficulty navigating a certain part of a route
This paper addresses issues of route complexity by considering when verbal route directions might alert the traveler to attend to a specific c by the author(s)
Route directions included in the case study reported in our work involve the presentation of route information based on the complexity of the route and the assumed prior knowledge of the wayfinder
Summary
It is not unusual for people to use an expression like “this is the tricky part” when they expect that the recipient might have particular difficulty navigating a certain part of a route. This mental representation is used to plan a route from origin to destination In this planning, direction givers account for description and navigation complexity, i.e., the described route may differ from the one they would travel themselves to get a route that is easier to describe and to navigate [45]. More complex situations may require more detailed information In their analysis of how people describe turning actions at intersections, Klippel, Tenbrink, and Montello [23] have pointed out different strategies people may employ to account for increased complexity: 1) a more verbose description that encompasses several options of describing the turn, 2) more variation in verbalizing instructions (other than simple projective terms), 3) more references to the structure of an intersection, 4) providing additional alternative instructions (redundancy), 5) references to competing directions that are not to be taken. The complexity of a wayfinding situation depends on different factors that are discussed
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