Summary | The project R6-SpaceGuide integrates research on navigation in built environments from different perspectives. We will show how navigation can be guided by factors on at least two levels, architectural or geometric factors of an environment on the one hand and background knowledge about physical object in such an environment on the other hand. While sub-project ArchWay has its focus on the first, sub-project ObjectSpace puts its focus on the later issue. As we expect a complex interplay of these factors joint studies and analyses are proposed to complement work in each area.
ArchWay addresses wayfinding in complex built environments from both the perspective of architectural designers and building users. Wayfinding behavior is studied in both real buildings and virtual environments in order to understand path choice preferences and cognitive strategies as well as their interaction with environmental factors on different levels of spatial granularity. The investigation of wayfinding problems in complex architectural settings is complemented by experiments on the cognitive processes and tool support requirements of architects for designing wayfinding-friendly environments.
ObjectSpace will study domain-specific background knowledge for spatial reasoning in the service of human and robot navigation, focusing on heuristic rules for the placement of objects relative to other objects in a complex indoor environment. This background knowledge and its use will be studied in supermarket environments. People, exploring and shopping, will be tracked using RFID technology. Robots will acquire this background knowledge in order to improve their navigational skills.
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