A system of automatic generation of landmark-based pedestrian navigation instructions and its effectiveness for wayfinding

Abstract

Websites of hotels, restaurants, and other businesses often provide navigation instructions from a nearby railway station. One form of such navigation instructions could combine street-view photographs and verbal directions, which may be intuitive and easy to understand. This study developed a method of generating landmark-based navigation instructions automatically using a digital map database available, and examined their effectiveness in navigating the user in comparison to a commercial GPS-based navigation application. Results showed that participants tended to travel longer distances and deviate from directed routes more frequently when using a GPS-based navigation application; the tendency was greater for people with a poor sense of direction. These people, however, did not have difficulty with wayfinding when using the landmark-based instructions. The present method of providing landmark-based navigation instructions was thus found to help the user, especially people with a poor sense of direction, find their way in a new environment.