Wayfinding Process Research Articles

Familiarity Factors of Street Features in Pedestrian Wayfindings

From an origin point to a destination point, good wayfinding process requires familiar recognition on the street environment. However, the unclear reasons of identifying street features to determine a route to the destination influences a pedestrian to select the wrong turn, walk in longer distance, and lost his direction. This paper aims to identify the factors that influence pedestrian familiarity, familiar or unfamiliar, in people wayfinding. Two hundred questionnaires were collected in Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia. Quotations from 30 interviews were used to triangulate the findings. Factor analysis available in IBM SPSS version 21 was used in exploring the familiarity factors for wayfinding. The finding suggests three factors influenced pedestrian to familiar with the street environment, which the factors are characteristic, attraction, and interest of street features. While, the duplication design of street features, error in defining the position of street features and form similarity of street features influence pedestrian to become unfamiliar with the street environment. This paper implies that the physical form of street features gives impact to pedestrian familiarity. Consideration of the three factors that influence pedestrian to familiar with the environment can improve how pedestrian experience in street network especially wayfinding.

Adding time dimension as a shaping parameter of architectural form (chrono form): fusing time and space in chronoform wayfinding

The concept of fusion of time and space in this paper known as chronoform is a concept that re-introduce the spacetime fusion as a developed descendant of chronophotography founded more than 100 year ago using computer. Research findings in spacetime in the hierarchy of wayfinding process (node, path & Survey) by the chronoform could be identified into the following three points: (1) The events in frames of motion vs. landmarks perceived by the user gives clues of spacetime. (2) The motion trajectories timeline creating the path knowledge. (3) The whole motion narrative vs. the survey knowledge. Einstein proved that time is relative, not absolute as Newton claimed. This relativity is achieved during the user movement inside the architectural form. Where he can in a few minutes’ experience what others can’t see while they are standing still outside the form. The faster they move under the influence of the accelerating rhythm achieved by the chronoform module, the slower their time will pass relative to someone planted firmly outside the architectural form. It is suggested in this study to create an array of void openings using chronoform technique synchronized on time frames across a sun path giving position and time clues.

길찾기 과정의 도로명주소 체계 연계를 위한 선형 객체 매칭 방법

지난 2012년부터 도로명주소가 본격 시행 및 활용되고 있지만, 아직도 상당 부분에서는 기존의 지번주소가 많이 통용되고 있다. 이는 일반인들의 공간 인식체계와 도로명주소의 공간 구조화 방식의 간극으로 인한 문제이다. 따라서 도로명주소 기반의 공간 인식 체계가 자리잡기 위해서는 생활 속에서 활용되는 각종 공간정보들이 도로명에 의하여 주소정보를 부여받을 수 있어야 한다. 본 연구는 공간 인식 과정이 가장 중요하게 나타나는 길찾기 과정에서의 도로명주소 체계의 연계를 목적으로, 이를 위하여 필요한 공간데이터의 기하학적 매칭 방법론을 설계 및 구현하였다. 도로명주소 기본도의 도로구간 레이어와 보행자용 도로 네트워크에 대하여, 개별 도로 객체를 중심으로 네트워크 이웃을 생성하였다. 그 다음, 생성된 이웃 집합 간의 기하학적 유사도 비교를 통하여, 네트워크 데이터의 각 객체에 매칭되는 도로구간을 탐색하였다. 매칭 성능은 F0.5 값을 기준으로 0.936의 결과를 얻었으며, 유사도 값을 기준으로 10% 수동 검사를 수행한 결과 이 값을 0.978까지 향상시킬 수 있었다. 이렇게 생성된 매칭 대응관계를 이용하여, 보행자용 도로 네트워크 데이터에 도로명 정보를 부여하였다. 이러한 방법론을 통하여, 도로명주소를 기반으로 한 길찾기 서비스 제공 및 공간 인식체계 정착에 도움을 줄 수 있다.

The Consistency of Information based on Observations of Users’ Behavior Regarding the Wayfinding Transfer between Trains and City Buses at Hakata Station in Fukuoka City

Background A legible and user-friendly wayfinding system of public transport networks is one of the key factors for improving a city’s intangible value. Therefore, this study focuses on the wayfinding system in the transfer between city buses and trains at Hakata Station to see how the current sign system at Hakata Station could affect people’s wayfinding behavior in order to find methods for improving the system. Methods The study conducted a survey related to the sign distribution and a wayfinding protocol. The signs were classified based on the functions in the survey. The wayfinding protocol included two aspects: 1) a wayfinding experiment that recorded and observed subjects’ wayfinding behavior, and 2) an interview and a questionnaire that were conducted afterward to assess the subjects’ wayfinding behavior. Results It was discovered that the signs, including directional signs, information signs, and identification signs were not consistent based on the mount types, color codes, illumination types, and the height. Bus information at Bus Stop A was not inadequate and integrated; moreover, information such as “Hakata Bus Terminal” and “Bus Stop A-F” on directional signs confused subjects to move ahead at Hakata Gate. The subjects’ behavior patterns were consistent at the JR Kyushu part of the Station Concourse, but they were inconsistent at the Shinkansen Entrance Central Gate and the Hakata Gate. Conclusions In this study, problems were clearly identified and methods were pointed out to improve the current sign system in order to lead people to smoothly transfer from trains to city buses. Also, a proposal based on four points for stations in other cities that were similar to Hakata Station was suggested, such as the consistency of signs at each decision point and path in the wayfinding process, the integrity and adequateness of bus information at bus stops, the clarity of differences between the bus terminal and bus stops at station squares, and the concern for information priorities at the whole sign system.

PROPOSING A MULTI-CRITERIA PATH OPTIMIZATION METHOD IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A UBIQUITOUS PEDESTRIAN WAYFINDING SERVICE

Abstract. A myriad of novel applications have emerged nowadays for different types of navigation systems. One of their most frequent applications is Wayfinding. Since there are significant differences between the nature of the pedestrian wayfinding problems and of those of the vehicles, navigation services which are designed for vehicles are not appropriate for pedestrian wayfinding purposes. In addition, diversity in environmental conditions of the users and in their preferences affects the process of pedestrian wayfinding with mobile devices. Therefore, a method is necessary that performs an intelligent pedestrian routing with regard to this diversity. This intelligence can be achieved by the help of a Ubiquitous service that is adapted to the Contexts. Such a service possesses both the Context-Awareness and the User-Awareness capabilities. These capabilities are the main features of the ubiquitous services that make them flexible in response to any user in any situation. In this paper, it is attempted to propose a multi-criteria path optimization method that provides a Ubiquitous Pedestrian Way Finding Service (UPWFS). The proposed method considers four criteria that are summarized in Length, Safety, Difficulty and Attraction of the path. A conceptual framework is proposed to show the influencing factors that have effects on the criteria. Then, a mathematical model is developed on which the proposed path optimization method is based. Finally, data of a local district in Tehran is chosen as the case study in order to evaluate performance of the proposed method in real situations. Results of the study shows that the proposed method was successful to understand effects of the contexts in the wayfinding procedure. This demonstrates efficiency of the proposed method in providing a ubiquitous pedestrian wayfinding service.

Application of space syntax theory to the sustainable development of Tunghai university campus environment

For the past thirty years, the space syntax theory has been widely used in topics related to constructing the pedestrian zone models, criminal analyses, traffic-related pollution controls, and way-finding processes. Space syntax allows the explanation for people's behavior and social activities from the spatial structure point of view. Most of the space syntax studies emphasize on the relationship between the urban form and the spatial structure. It is often used for assessing development projects or architecture configurations. Researchers are dedicated to developing the theory and method of the spatial data analysis (SDA). The “spatial analysis” is a critical feature of the geographic information system (GIS) and this feature makes it different from various other ways of handling the space information. In this study, the space syntax theory was used for the analysis of the interior environment of the Tunghai University campus and the downtown roads surrounding it so as to find the hot spot of the target base. A suggestion was also proposed for planning a road sign system for the elderly to walk here so that the elderly can walk on the flat and smooth regions in the campus with distinguishing features. This approach achieved the purpose of a sustainable campus and it can also enhance the way-finding efficiency. The walking route which is obtained by the analysis and suitable for the elderly is described as follows. From the entrance gate of the first campus along the Beauson Road to arrive at the Luce Chapel; along the Duxin Road and pass through the President's residence and the Sunlight Lawn; come down two blocks and turn left so as to arrive at the University Milk Restaurant and the Green Heart; turn right and along the Li-shin Road to the second campus so as to pass through the Dairy Farm, Department of Fine Arts, Department of Music, and College of Management; now arrive at the entrance gate of the second campus. This route is one of the routes which are suitable for the elderly to walk along. The follow-up research will invite elderly groups for real testing so as to verify the suitability of this route.

Implementing an augmented reality-enabled wayfinding system through studying user experience and requirements in complex environments

Abstract Background Wayfinding is an exceedingly complicated cognitive process, especially in complex environments such as hospitals, shopping centers and airports. Inhabitants of such large environments can become lost very easily if they are unfamiliar with the environment. Although they may eventually be able to discover the route to a specific destination, interacting with conventional wayfinding aids, such as consulting a map, understanding signs, and asking people for directions, can be very time-consuming. Methods The research presented in this paper developed a customized instrument (questionnaire) with factors identified as influencing the cognitive process of wayfinding, and conducted an explorative study to investigate user experience and requirements of wayfinding in complex environments; in this paper, a hospital was chosen as the context. Results The results demonstrate that current wayfinding aids are insufficient to support a person's natural navigational behaviors in the environment. Augmented Reality (AR), which is an innovative concept of enabling digital information to be superimposed onto a real view in real time and context, has great potential to supplement current wayfinding aids. Therefore, we also conceived, developed and implemented an AR-based wayfinding system based on the user requirements identified by the aforementioned instrument. Conclusion The AR-based wayfinding system was partially validated through case studies, which concluded that AR significantly reduced the time and cognition workload of human wayfinding behaviors.

Identity, storytelling and the philanthropic journey.

This article develops theoretical understanding of the involvement of wealthy entrepreneurs in socially transformative projects by offering a foundational theory of philanthropic identity narratives. We show that these narratives are structured according to the metaphorical framework of the journey, through which actors envision and make sense of personal transformation. The journey provides a valuable metaphor for conceptualizing narrative identities in entrepreneurial careers as individuals navigate different social landscapes, illuminating identities as unfolding through a process of wayfinding in response to events, transitions and turning-points. We delineate the journey from entrepreneurship to philanthropy, and propose a typology of rewards that entrepreneurs claim to derive from giving. We add to the expanding literature on narrative identities by suggesting that philanthropic identity narratives empower wealthy entrepreneurs to generate a legacy of the self that is both self- and socially oriented, these ‘generativity scripts’ propelling their capacity for action while ensuring the continuation of their journeys.

Training Adults with Brain Injury How to Help-seek when Lost: A Pilot Study

There is no research on the assessment or treatment of help-seeking behaviours for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This paper describes the development of a protocol, NICE (Noticing you have a problem,Identifying the information you need for help,Compensatory strategies,Evaluating progress) to train help-seeking for adults with TBI when lost. Theoretical and treatment components from three empirically validated interventions that target social problem-solving and communication skills were adapted to develop NICE: the Group Interactive Structured Treatment for Social Competence (GIST), the Problem Solving Group Protocol (PSG) and Interpersonal Recall (IPR). Preliminary pilot data evaluating the efficacy are presented for three adult persons with TBI. All three participants improved on the Executive Function Route Finding Task (EFRT) and help-seeking behaviours when wayfinding. Help-seeking is a constitutive factor in the wayfinding process capable of improvement. Preliminary evidence supports further investigation of this group intervention.

Identifying Elements of the Health Care Environment That Contribute to Wayfinding

Identify aspects of the physical environment that inform wayfinding for visitors. Compare and contrast the identified elements in frequency of use. Gain an understanding of the role the different elements and attributes play in the wayfinding process. Wayfinding by patients and visitors is a documented problem in healthcare facilities. The few studies that have been conducted have identified some of the environmental elements that influence wayfinding. Moreover, literatures comparing different design strategies are absent. Currently there is limited knowledge to inform prioritization of strategies to optimize wayfinding within capital budget. A multi-method, non-experimental, qualitative, exploratory study design was adopted. The study was conducted in a large, acute care facility in Texas. Ten healthy adults in five age groups, representing both sexes, participated in the study as simulated visitors. Data collection included (a) verbal protocols during navigation; (b) questionnaire; and (c) verbal directions from hospital employees. Data were collected during Fall 2013. Physical design elements contributing to wayfinding include signs, architectural features, maps, interior elements (artwork, display boards, information counters, etc.), functional clusters, interior elements pairing, structural elements, and furniture. The information is used in different ways - some for primary navigational information, some for supporting navigational information, and some as familiarity markers. The physical environment has a critical role in aiding navigation in healthcare facilities. Architectural feature is the top contributor in the domain of architecture. Artwork (painting, sculpture, etc.) is the top contributor in the domain of interior design.

Wayfinding Behaviors in Complex Buildings

To contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of human wayfinding behaviors in complex buildings, we propose a framework that incorporates the impact of critical factors from both the environment and humans. The influence of the environment is summarized through the concept of environmental legibility (EL), an integration of different space syntax methods that addresses visibility, connectivity, and layout complexity of buildings. Human factors are assessed through psychometric tests, self-ratings for sense of direction, and a report of familiarity. To test this framework, we conducted behavioral experiments involving 24 novices and 28 experts. Three different processes of wayfinding—wayfinding performance, acquisition of spatial knowledge, and development of spatial awareness—were measured and evaluated. Results show that EL and individual differences impact all three processes. There is a predominant impact of EL on wayfinding performance and the development of spatial awareness. Not surprisingly, familiarity has a predominant impact on the acquisition of spatial knowledge.

Where Am I? Investigating Map Matching During Self‐Localization With Mobile Eye Tracking in an Urban Environment

AbstractSelf‐localization is the process of identifying one's current position on a map, and it is a crucial part of any wayfinding process. During self‐localization the wayfinder matches visually perceptible features of the environment, such as landmarks, with map symbols to constrain potential locations on the map. The success of this visual matching process constitutes an important factor for the success of self‐localization. In this research we aim at observing the visual matching process between environment and map during self‐localization with real‐world mobile eye tracking. We report on one orientation and one self‐localization experiment, both in an outdoor urban environment. The gaze data collected during the experiments show that successful participants put significantly more visual attention to those symbols on the map that were helpful in the given situation than unsuccessful participants. A sequence analysis revealed that they also had significantly more switches of visual attention between map symbols and their corresponding landmarks in the environment, which suggests they were following a more effective self‐localization strategy.

Using environmental affordances to direct people natural movement indoors

Understanding and predicting people's displacement movement is particularly important for professionals involved in planning complex buildings (e.g., hospitals, convention centers, subway stations and university campus). Some decisions taken by the visitors while choosing what route to follow can be influenced by some environmental cues which can act as a factor of attraction, influencing the wayfinding process. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the hypotheses that, in the context of a simulated emergency egress, people prefer to move along either a wider and with more lighting corridor or to bear right. To collect the users' responses, a constant stimulus method was used, combined with a two forced choices method, involving the projection of stereoscopic images in a wall-screen. Results suggest that, in a "T-type" intersection, users randomly chose which direction to follow. However, if there is an increment in the width of the side corridor, users tend to follow the wider corridor. When light is inserted, users also prefer to choose the corridors with more lighting. In situations where the variables corridor width and existence of lighting are concurrent, the corridors with light are the most chosen by the users.

Use of gestalt in wayfinding design and analysis of wayfinding process

The authors brought forward the definition of “Gestalt space” and indicated this kind of space can be easily cognized. Three experiments showed that “classification” and “grouping” are the human strategies to solve wayfinding problems. “Similarity” and “Legibility” of the space are advantageous to help people to complete wayfinding tasks. The designer should provide the essential “Legibility” in Gestalt space, by using some techniques such as “break” and “accession” to settle the wayfinding problem.

Situations for living: performing emplacement

This essay enquires how certain performative mechanisms deployed in the practice-as-research project Homing Place might be conceived as homing devices, mechanisms that create relational and dialogic interspaces of orientation, dwelling, and emplacement and methods of bodily attunement to places. How might they be a homing place or homing places – describing both a place of inhabitation that exists in and through movement and a method of action, a way of finding, making and inhabiting that place? In Homing Place, a set of contextually based and participant-led experiments involved inhabitants of Plymouth, UK, who are asylum seekers and refugees, in spatial, relational and dialogic art processes of wayfinding, mapping and walking. This essay considers the underlying conceptual concerns of this project – how do those performative mechanisms employed create place or are place-making, and how is emplacement performed? Key conceptual tools for this discussion are Tim Ingold's conceptions of wayfaring and inhabitant knowledge and Edward Casey's conceptions of dwelling and inhabitation.

The role of recipient perspective in giving and following wayfinding directions

AbstractWe examined how recipient perspective and descriptive features affect direction giving and following during wayfinding. In Experiment 1, participants provided directions from starting locations to destinations for fictional recipients driving through a town (route perspective) or looking at a map of the town (survey perspective). As expected, participants included left‐right and landmarks more frequently when addressing a person driving in the town and cardinal descriptors more frequently when addressing a person looking at a map. In Experiment 2, participants rated the effectiveness of directions. Effective directions contained significantly more left‐right references than did less effective directions. In Experiment 3, participants followed the best‐ and worst‐rated directions. Unexpectedly, they navigated significantly faster when following the worst‐rated directions. In Experiment 4, participants gave wayfinding directions for destinations in a familiar town. Again, direction features depended on recipient perspective, highlighting the dynamic nature of wayfinding processes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The wayfinding process relationships between decision-making and landmark utility

Wayfinding is an important aspect that should be considered by tourist park managers when allocating resources and facilities to aid tourists navigating their way through a park. This paper discusses wayfinding as a cognitive psychological process. It presents four models of the wayfinding process based on visitor levels of familiarity with the physical environment, whether the expected itinerary was pre-planned or unplanned and the spatial and temporal scales encountered in the tourist visit. The relationship between wayfinding decision-making and the roles of landmarks and cognitive map generation for each type of wayfinding process are analysed and summarised. A case study is conducted to test these four models. Wayfinding where travellers are unfamiliar with the environment but wayfinding aids are offered to travellers for a small area is the most popular type encountered in the case study. This paper highlights the need for tourist managers to understand that tourists use different methods of wayfinding and that management should provide complementary materials to assist in wayfinding. The next stage in this research will be to focus on the relationship between individual differences and wayfinding.

Combining social-based and information-based approaches for personalised recommendation on sequencing learning activities

Lifelong learners who select learning activities to attain certain learning goals need to know which are suitable and in which sequence they should be performed. Learners need support in this way-finding process, and we argue that this could be provided by using Personalised Recommender Systems (PRSs). To enable personalisation, collaborative filtering could use information about learners and learning activities, since their alignment contributes to learning efficiency. A model for way-finding presents personalised recommendations in relation to information about learning goals, learning activities and learners. A PRS has been developed according to this model, and recommends to learners the best next learning activities. Both model and system combine social-based (i.e., completion data from other learners) and information-based (i.e., metadata from learner profiles and learning activities) approaches to recommend the best next learning activity to be completed.

Getting From Here to There: Spatial Anxiety, Wayfinding Strategies, Direction Type, and Wayfinding Efficiency

We investigated the efficiency with which men and women find their way to novel destinations using directions containing landmarks or cardinal descriptors and how such wayfinding performance is related to differences in spatial anxiety and wayfinding strategies. In two experiments, participants navigated through a model town using landmark or cardinal directions. Men and women were faster and more accurate when navigating based on cardinal directions than when navigating based on landmark directions. In addition, participants who reported greater spatial anxiety made significantly more navigation errors. As reliance on orientation strategies increased, navigation efficiency increased, suggesting that wayfinding strategies are related to navigation performance. These findings are discussed in relation to broader theoretical ideas concerning the dynamics of wayfinding processes.

Wayfinding in Public Transportation

The Israeli Ministry of Transport initiated a project to restructure the bus network in the Metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel, area, as part of a program to improve transit patronage. In addition to examining improvements in travel times, the project addressed ways to make the bus network easier to use. A study identified system legibility as a barrier to use. To evaluate alternative networks, a team of transportation planners developed a set of measures to evaluate the legibility of a transit network. The measures are a synthesis of common principles for city planning, transportation planning, and cognitive processes of wayfinding. These measures allow public transportation planners to evaluate the inherent legibility of various public transportation networks before the addition of navigational aids, such as maps, diagrams, signs, and others.