Wayfinding Experience Research Articles

Spatial-Thinking Knowledge Acquisition from Route-Based Learning and Survey Learning: Improvement of Spatial Orientation Skill with Geographic Information Science Sources

Engineers use spatial information. Mapping and wayfinding in the real world are activities that use spatial orientation skills. A set of resources available on the Internet whereby engineers work with maps and spatial georeferenced information is termed geographic information science (GISc), which allows the use of mapping and exploratory navigation with maps and a continuous three-dimensional (3D) digital image of the real world to simulate navigation at a ground-level perspective. In this case study, a workshop composed of 193 civil engineering students, 35 belonging to a control group, was conducted to determine whether spatial orientation skills can be developed through map reading and the virtual wayfinding experience. After the workshop, the results showed a significant improvement in the spatial orientation skill, ranging between a minimum of 14.56° and a maximum of 26.61° rank in the Perspective Taking/Spatial Orientation Test: training had a positive impact on the development of spatial orientation skills. The control group results confirmed that students who were not subject to specific training did not increase their spatial orientation skill.

Artificial Intelligence for Predictive and Evidence Based Architecture Design

The evidence-based analysis of people's navigation and wayfinding behaviour in large-scale built-up environments (e.g., hospitals, airports) encompasses the measurement and qualitative analysis of a range of aspects including people's visual perception in new and familiar surroundings, their decision-making procedures and intentions, the affordances of the environment itself, etc. In our research on large-scale evidence-based qualitative analysis of wayfinding behaviour, we construe visual perception and navigation in built-up environments as a dynamic narrative construction process of movement and exploration driven by situation-dependent goals, guided by visual aids such as signage and landmarks, and influenced by environmental (e.g., presence of other people, time of day, lighting) and personal (e.g., age, physical attributes) factors. We employ a range of sensors for measuring the embodied visuo-locomotive experience of building users: eye-tracking, egocentric gaze analysis, external camera based visual analysis to interpret fine-grained behaviour (e.g., stopping, looking around, interacting with other people), and also manual observations made by human experimenters. Observations are processed, analysed, and integrated in a holistic model of the visuo-locomotive narrative experience at the individual and group level. Our model also combines embodied visual perception analysis with analysis of the structure and layout of the environment (e.g., topology, routes, isovists) computed from available 3D models of the building. In this framework, abstract regions like the visibility space, regions of attention, eye movement clusters, are treated as first class visuo-spatial and iconic objects that can be used for interpreting the visual experience of subjects in a high-level qualitative manner. The final integrated analysis of the wayfinding experience is such that it can even be presented in a virtual reality environment thereby providing an immersive experience (e.g., using tools such as the Oculus Rift) of the qualitative analysis for single participants, as well as for a combined analysis of large group. This capability is especially important for experiments in post-occupancy analysis of building performance. Our construction of indoor wayfinding experience as a form of moving image analysis centralizes the role and influence of perceptual visuo-spatial characteristics and morphological features of the built environment into the discourse on wayfinding research. We will demonstrate the impact of this work with several case-studies, particularly focussing on a large-scale experiment conducted at the New Parkland Hospital in Dallas Texas, USA.

Geographical Cues and Developmental Exposure: Navigational Style, Wayfinding Anxiety, and Childhood Experience in the Faroe Islands.

The current study assessed potential relationships among childhood wayfinding experience, navigational style, and adult wayfinding anxiety in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands are of interest because they have an unusual geography that may promote the use of an orientational style of navigation (e.g., use of cardinal directions). Faroese adults completed questionnaires assessing (1) their permitted childhood range sizes, (2) the types of navigational strategies they use, and (3) the amount of anxiety they experience when navigating in adulthood. Males had more childhood wayfinding experience, used the orientation strategy at a higher rate, and showed lower levels of wayfinding anxiety. When compared with other cultures, both Faroese women and men appear to embrace orientation strategies at an unusually high rate. Childhood experience was not conclusively linked to later wayfinding anxiety. However, the current findings raise the possibility that children who have particularly small ranges in childhood may be especially anxious when navigating in adulthood.

Landmarks in tourist wayfinding: a review

Demographic trends project a significant expansion of European urban populations to 2030, leading to expanding cities being marketed as desirable tourist destinations, particularly for short city breaks. In turn, this renders the promotion of efficient, effective and satisfactory visitor wayfinding experiences as potentially lucrative to regional visitor economies, a point reflected in current UK government tourism policy. This paper reviews key outcomes from multidisciplinary research into wayfinding behaviours and acquired spatial knowledge in unfamiliar large-scale urban environments, placing emphasis on the importance of landmarks. The rationale is that understanding the relationships between wayfinding and the features of the urban built environment facilitates informed design of potential built interventions. For this purpose, those studies involving virtual urban environments are reviewed to assess the role of landmarks as aids to navigation. In addition, given the emphasis on visual access to landmarks, issues impacting on tourists who are visually impaired are addressed. Implications for interventions in urban areas for tourists are considered.

The use of simulated visual impairment to identify hospital design elements that contribute to wayfinding difficulties

Many public facility layouts have been developed with little consideration of the visually impaired, producing difficult and unpleasant wayfinding experiences. Not all wayfinding elements can be applied universally to all environments; several wayfinding elements are specific to the type of industry being considered. No known research has been conducted within healthcare systems to find wayfinding limitations among visually impaired users during the navigation process. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current issues in a wayfinding task for the visually impaired and normally sighted to identify wayfinding design deficits. Normally-sighted participants ( m = 25, f = 25) wore one of five different vision simulator goggles to simulate a specific visual impairment (diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and hemianopsia) and were then given directions how to get to specific series of departments within a hospital campus. Participants then navigated a second time (using a different, but similar series of paths) without the vision simulator goggles (normal vision) so comparisons could be made. During participant wayfinding, behaviors such as stopping, looking around, touching walls, becoming lost and/or confused were recorded by location of each instance on a map. Questionnaires asking about the surrounding environment were completed after each condition. The results of this study identified several design elements involving signage, paths/target sites, lighting and flooring that created wayfinding issues for both experimental conditions. The effects of the wayfinding issues on participants ranged from tripping to becoming lost in the surrounding environment. Enhancing wayfinding for the most highly visually impacted individuals may also improve wayfinding for those with normal vision via universal design. The hospital design flaws identified by this study provide key areas and elements (not previously investigated) for further research studies to analyze more comprehensively and ultimately provide sound design recommendations to enhance effective wayfinding. Relevance to the industry This paper offers information relevant to a growing healthcare sector facing an aging population with growing needs. Applying organizational, architectural and design principles from this paper can lead to improved patient satisfaction, safety and patient flow within the hospital setting for the visually impaired and others without visual impairment.

Simulating Visual Impairment to Detect Hospital Wayfinding Difficulties

Many public facility layouts have been developed with little consideration for the visually impaired, producing difficult and unpleasant wayfinding experiences. This study analyzed the current issues in a wayfinding task for the visually impaired and makes recommendations towards wayfinding improvements within a healthcare setting. Normally-sighted participants (m=25, f=25) wore one of five different vision simulator goggles to replicate a specific vision condition (diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and hemianopsia) and were then given directions how to get to specific series of departments within a hospital campus. Participants then navigated a second time without the simulated vision condition, with normal vision, so comparisons could be made. The results of this study show that for visually impaired people, decorative elements often create major disturbances in wayfinding. Combined with other age related conditions, this may put patients and visitors at high risk of accidental injuries. In addition, changes in lighting often are misleading and may cause doorways and hallways to appear larger/smaller than they are. The size, illumination and placement of signage also appear to be unsatisfactory. Most of these problems can easily be detected, categorized and eliminated by hospitals using these data.

Taxonomy of Wayfinding Experiences

Taxonomy of Wayfinding Experiences

Gender differences in wayfinding strategies and anxiety about wayfinding: A cross-cultural comparison.

Two studies examined gender and cultural differences in wayfinding strategies and anxiety about wayfinding. Men in both Hungary and the United States reported greater preference for a strategy of orienting to global reference points, whereas women reported greater preference for a strategy based on route information. A higher level of wayfinding anxiety was reported by Americans, and women in both countries reported greater wayfinding anxiety than did men. Women in the United States, but not in Hungary, reported less childhood wayfinding experience than did men; women in both countries reported feeling less safe than did men. Feeling of personal safety and wayfinding strategy preferences mediated the gender difference in wayfinding anxiety.

Ontology and epistemology for agent-based wayfinding simulation

Agent-based systems are used to simulate the behaviour of people in various spatial environments. Designers of such systems need to give attention to ontological and epistemological concerns during the early stages of development to assure that the agent-based system is built upon a sound foundation. Only then is it possible to model the agent's behaviour in a cognitively plausible way. This paper describes an ecological approach to model ontology and epistemology for agent-based wayfinding simulation. The ontology of the wayfinding environment is based on a subdivision into medium, substances, and surfaces. The epistemological model uses the concept of affordances, which we divide into physical, social-institutional, and mental affordances. Ontology and epistemology are both grounded in people's descriptions of their wayfinding experiences. A case study of wayfinding in airports is used to demonstrate the applicability of the method for designing a simulation with a cognizing agent.

Navigation, Wayfinding, and Place Experience within a Virtual City

We report a qualitative study of navigation, wayfinding, and place experience within a virtual city. “Cityscape” is a virtual environment (VE), partially algorithmically generated and intended to be redolent of the aggregate forms of real cities. In the present study, we observed and interviewed participants during and following exploration of a desktop implementation of Cityscape. A number of emergent themes were identified and are presented and discussed. Observing the interaction with the virtual city suggested a continuous relationship between real and virtual worlds. Participants were seen to attribute real-world properties and expectations to the contents of the virtual world. The implications of these themes for the construction of virtual environments modeled on real-world forms are considered.

Wayfinding in a Nursing Home for Advanced Dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type

The aim of the study was to generate design criteria in order to encourage and facilitate wayfinding for advanced Alzheimer’s patients. Two sources of data were used: interviews with the staff of a typical urban nursing home, and a wayfinding experience with its residents. The results show that even patients with severe cognitive deterioration are able to reach certain destinations. Wayfinding decisions have to be based on environmental information that is readily accessible, so that the patient can proceed from decision point to decision point. Monotony of architectural composition and the lack of reference points render wayfinding difficult. The elevators are seen to be a major anxiety-causing barrier. Visual access to the main destinations increases their use and facilitates wayfinding. Signage has an important function, creating redundancy in wayfinding communication and compensating for the loss of memory and spatial understanding. Floor patterns and dark lines or surfaces can disorient the patients and cause anxiety.

Asian Migrant Adolescents' Experience of Wayfinding in Using a Map

Cross-cultural studies in wayfinding have not been a focus for researchers. Although there has been extensive research into different aspects of wayfinding, mainly in Western cultural settings, virtually all of this research has been monocultural. The study reported, here, commences the investigations of cross-cultural studies in wayfinding by working with a group of 14 adolescents who had recently settled in Australia from Asian and Pacific countries. These students had lived for less than two years in Australia and for them English was their second or third language. The purpose of the study was to investigate how they used a large scale local map to find their own way by walking approximately two to three kilometers from a suburban post office to their school in its natural setting. Each student was shadowed by a researcher as they found their way back to school and notes were taken to record their behavioural performance. At the conclusion of their walk, the students were interviewed for their reflections on their wayfinding experience. The data from the study was analyses using a phenomenographic approach. Four different conceptions of wayfinding were revealed among this cross-cultural group of adolescents. However, only a limited number of cross-cultural influences were detected in the study.

A phenomenographical approach to the study of pre-adolescents' use of maps in a wayfinding exercise in a suburban environment

This paper reports the investigative study, which used a phenomenographical approach, on how a group of 12-year-old students found their way around a designated suburban route by referring to a sequential listing of streets along the route and a street directory map of the suburban area. While the content of this study belongs to map use and wayfinding experience of the pre-adolescent students, the approach used is phenomenographic in that it identified the qualitatively different ways that the students experienced the suburban environment. The students' experiences were interpreted using a behaviourial matrix of their actions while they traversed the route. Qualitative variations in their approaches to wayfinding using maps were obtained from interviews which were conducted immediately after the students completed their route navigation. Four qualitatively different approaches were determined from their reflections of their own wayfinding behaviours. They are the restricted and neophytic approach; careful and sequential approach; deductive and familiarized approach; and the visualized and co-ordinated spatial approach. These approaches reflect the different behaviours and abilities of the students to: plan their route using a street directory map; plan the route street by street or a number of streets at a time; use street signs and other landmarks during the actual task; utilize local knowledge of the route; maintain their orientation; visualize spatial patterns; and use the scale on the map to help planning.