An algorithm for the selection of route dependent orientation information

Löwen Heinrich, Schwering Angela

Abstract

Landmarks are important features of spatial cognition and are naturally included in human route descriptions. In the past algorithms were developed to select the most salient landmarks at decision points and automatically incorporate them in route instruc- tions. Moreover, it was shown that human route descriptions contain a significant amount of orientation information , which support the users to orient themselves regarding known environmental information; it was shown that orientation information support the acqui- sition of survey knowledge. Thus, there is a need to extend the landmarks selection to automatically select orientation information. In this work, we present an algorithm for the computational selection of route dependent orientation information, which extends previ- ous algorithms and includes a salience calculation of orientation information for any lo- cation along the route. We implemented the algorithm and demonstrate the functionality based on OpenStreetMap data.