Navigating Indoor Space

Placement of You-Are-Here Maps: An Empirical Study using Multiple Approaches

Chelsea Gilliam, Rui Li, Brian Chorman, Alexander Klippel,

Jinlong Yang

Background

You-Are-Here (YAH) maps are vital tools for navigation inside unfamiliar environments.

How can we assess the influence of the placement of YAH maps on wayfinding in buildings?

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Research Objectives

Analyze Library Environment Visibility Connectivity Layout Complexity

Add map placement to analysis to assess areas of map influence Conduct behavioral experiments to assess human wayfinding

performance in these environments

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4

Analysis of Library Environment

Visibility Analysisusing Depthmap Software.

This is the output of a visibility graph analysis.

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Analysis of Library Environment

Axial maps showing connectivity.

Areas of higher visibilityhave higher connectivity.

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Analysis of Library Environment

Layout Complexity was calculatedusing Inter-Connection Density (ICD).

ICD is a global measure of a floor’s overall layout complexity.

Placement of YAH Maps

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Voronoi Tessellation of Central Stacks

Navigation Aids

Central Stacks 1A

Signage Types

"/ You-Are-Here Map

#0 You-Are-Here Map (small size)

Employeeonly stairwell

Public access

stairwell

Placement of YAH Maps

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Voronoi Tessellation of Paterno Library

Navigation Aids in Paterno 2 and 5

Signage Types

"/!(

#

You-Are-Here Map

Call Number Location Sign

Hanging Sign

Temporary Call Number Location Sign

Floor 2 Floor 5

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Behavioral Experiments

24 students who had never visited the campus library before and 28 librarians were asked to find a book in each of the library environments.

Their paths were recorded via glasses with an attached camera.

Behavioral Experiments

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X

“X” marks the spot!

Novices

X

Experts

Behavioral Experiments

“X” marks the spot!

Novices Experts

X X

Behavioral Experiments

Novices

“X” marks the spot!

Experts

X X

X

Spatial Interpolation

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Novices

Maximum number of map views

Minimum number of map views (employee-only staircase)

Experts

X

Spatial Interpolation

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Novices

X

Experts

X

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Spatial Interpolation

Novices Experts

X XX X

Navigation Aids in Paterno 5

Signage Types

"/!(

#

You-Are-Here Map

Call Number Location Sign

Hanging Sign

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Findings

Good! -Small area covered per map

-Signage used to supplement YAH maps-High visibility and connectivity-Lower Inter-Connection Density

Novice wayfinding similar to expert wayfinding

Bad!-Large area covered per map-Low visibility and connectivity-High Inter-Connection Density

Distinct difference between novice wayfinding and expert wayfinding

Findings

Conclusions

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Current

Suggested

Adding more YAH maps along traveled routes may improve novice wayfinding inside the Central Stacks.

Acknowledgements

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Thank you to Rui Li, Dr. Alexander Klippel,and the Human Factors in GIScience Lab at

Penn State.

Research funding provided by Penn State Schreyer Honors College