Formative studies for dynamic wayfinding support with in-building situated displays and mobile devices.

Taher, Faisal and Cheverst, Keith and Harding, Michael and Fitton, Daniel (2009) Formative studies for dynamic wayfinding support with in-building situated displays and mobile devices. In: MUM '09 Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia :. ACM, New York. ISBN 978-1-60558-846-9

Abstract

There is a significant disparity between wayfinding support services available in outdoor and in-building locations. Services such as Google Maps and in-car GPS allow users to examine unknown outdoor locations in advance as well as receive guidance en-route. In contrast, there is relatively little digital technology to support users in complex building architectures, e.g. institution buildings where users are generally limited to using traditional signage or asking for directions at the reception. However, recent advances in pervasive digital display technology are enabling a new range of possibilities and are making this topic increasingly subject to study. In this paper, we describe five formative studies involving 39 participants using situated digital displays, a Person Locator Kiosk, and personal mobile devices. We report our findings by gaining insights and feedback from users in order to develop wayfinding assistance for visitors in an in-building environment.