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The communication and understanding of spatial information is an important component in designing GIScience technology. With growing technical capabilities and more sophisticated methods of providing and analyzing spatial data, it is increasingly necessary to integrate formalized human factors into the design of interfaces. The core element of my research, therefore, is the combination of methods from different disciplines to advance computational models of the communication and understanding of spatial information. A strong focus of my work is the integration of cognitive science research, in particular spatial cognition, into GIScience. In searching for a concept that summarizes my research interest, I have coined the term sapient interfaces. The idea behind this concept is twofold: First, a sapient interface reflects core principles of the cognitive organization of spatial knowledge; and second, it extends the practice of cognitive modeling into the area of cognitive ergonomics by using results from human-computer-interaction studies to make communication as efficient as possible.

Please note: While I make efforts to keep this summary of research activities active, it may be (is always) out of date at times and you may be better of to check out my publication page.

Specifically, my recent and current research activities can be categorized under the following headings:

  1. Development of a high-level cognitive framework for route directions.
  2. Language and space.
  3. User-map-environment interaction.
  4. Geographic event conceptualization.
  5. Miscellaneous

Development of a High-Level Cognitive Framework for Route Directions

This topic can be further broken into the sub-categories of:

  1. Cognitively ergonomic route directions.
  2. Computational modeling of route knowledge.
  3. Static and dynamic display of information.
  4. Cognitive OpenLS.

Cognitively ergonomic route directions

In a multidisciplinary research collaboration, we developed a formal language to represent route knowledge, to structure route information according to cognitive principles, and to adapt route information to different contexts. This approach continues to feature in my current work on the cognitive basis of next generation location-based services (LBS). Central cognitive aspects relevant for route directions were investigated, resulting in knowledge on where to integrate landmarks, which presentation mode to choose (static or dynamic), and how to change the level of granularity. Funding for this research has been provided through the Faculty of Engineering (The University of Melbourne) for two projects: In 2005, for the development of A High-Level Cognitive Framework for Route Directions, and in 2006 for Multimodal Wayfinding Assistance.

Related articles:

 

Computational modeling of route knowledge

The primitives of the developed formal language for route knowledge are Wayfinding Choremes, which are defined as cognitive (human) conceptualizations of wayfinding and route direction elements. They function as terminals in the Wayfinding Choreme Route Grammar (WCRG), allowing for modeling cognitive aspects as well as adapting route information to different spatial contexts or personal preferences, such as the familiarity of a wayfinder with their environment (e.g., Srinivas and Hirtle, to appear). With respect to the structuring qualities of T-intersections, for example, the instruction “follow the road until it dead ends” has the potential of reducing the amount of information by coarsening the level of granularity. In terms of the WCRG, this is modeled as follows: Several intersections where the wayfinder has to move STRAIGHT (wcs) are terminated by a LEFT or RIGHT turn at a T-intersection (wcTr , wcTl ) and are combined to a new concept (dwcT).

To further adapt ergonomic principles to the requirements of information technology, we worked on extending the specification of the Open GIS consortium for Location Based Services, OpenLS (Mabrouk 2005). Together with the Transregional Collaborative Research Center for Spatial Cognition in Bremen, Germany, I have also developed a system that realizes the communication of route information using environmental features (Richter and Klippel, 2005).

Related articles:

 

Some references (please refer to articles for extensive lists):

Static and dynamic display of information

My research focuses on aspects of the dynamic, static, and hybrid presentation of route information and the use of motion in displays of air traffic controllers. We found that motion fosters several cognitive aspects of Human-Computer-Interaction, including focusing a user's attention. It is necessary, however, to abandon the restricted perspective that animation is either good or bad. Rather, we have findings indicating that it is more pertinent to focus on the user group, their tasks, heuristics, and mental representations of space, and integrate motion (or animation) where it is most beneficial using other representation formats according to their representational characteristics and advantages.

Cognitive OpenLS

We recently finished work on developing a data structure that allows for modeling the findings discussed in our work on the High-Level Cognitive Framework for Route Directions. As a basis we chose the OpenLS standard (Marbrouk 2005). The details can be found in the following publications.

Language and Space

This topic can be further broken into the sub-categories of:

  1. Perception, conceptualization and linguistic labels; and
  2. The role of structure and function for conceptualization processes.

Perception, Conceptualization, and Linguistic Labels

I have conducted several experiments on the conceptualization of directions and the use of projective terms. Figure 1 below shows the results of a study using a grouping paradigm and cluster analysis to reveal the conceptualizations underlying directions at decision points in street networks. Instead of a homogenous sector model—as it is often assumed in formalism—our study detailed the different roles of the front and the back plane for egocentric movements and rendered more precise the criticism that sector models are not homogenous, but a combination of axes and sectors. We are currently continueing this work arguing for an intra-geometric functional framework and highlight its effects on the conceptualization of directions in analogy to work that postulates an extra-geometric functional framework.

Main results:

  • 7 categories (sectors) , 'back' sector not analyzed
  • Sectors have different size
  • A combination of sectors and an axis, i.e. the straight direction
  • Clearly demarcated front and back plane
  • Symmetric left and right sides

 

The Role of Structure and Function for Conceptualization Processes

Related to the aforementioned research and based on the distinction of structure and function (the geometric layout of an environment and the actions performed therein), I am currently investigating the effects structure and function have on the conceptualization of environmental information. The goal of this research is to develop a systematic analysis of the relationship between these two aspects in order to provide a basis for the ontological characterization of spatial knowledge that combines object and event characterizations. To this end, I am working towards formally relating geometric and cognitive conceptualizations.

User-Map-Environment Interaction

This topic can be further devided into the sub-categories of:

  1. Wayfinding choreme maps;
  2. You-Are-Here maps; and
  3. Perception and cognition.

Wayfinding Choreme Maps

The insights I have gained from the aforementioned experiments and the formalization of spatial knowledge used in wayfinding and route directions have been integrated into information systems to communicate spatial knowledge. For example, the article Wayfinding Choreme Maps (Klippen et al. 2005) details how results of conceptualization studies provide the basis for map design, i.e. It details a cognitively-motivated generalization algorithm.

You-Are-Here Maps

The starting point for every routing activity is knowledge about one's current position, not in terms of co-ordinates but rather with respect to cognitive ergonomics using cognitively and perceptually salient features of the environment. At present, You-Are-Here (YAH) maps fulfill this function in buildings and at prominent locations. An analysis of YAH maps, however, has shown that they often provide misleading information by violating YAH map design criteria, such as the correct alignment with the user's reference system. During emergencies, poor map design may prove deadly for unfamiliar or older users. Together with Professor Freksa (Department of Informatics, University of Bremen, Germany) and Dr. Winter (Department of Geomatics, The University of Melbourne, Australia), I am currently developing a framework that combines positioning technology with spatial cognition research and interface design to automatically create YAH maps for specific locations. This technology will be applicable indoor and outdoor and will be adaptable to displays of different size. The goals are to improve the safety during emergencies and to allow for the coordination of work forces equipped with GPS devices in cases of catastrophes.

 

Perception and Cognition

The role of perception on the organization of mental knowledge representations is an often neglected aspect of interface ergonomics (Fabrikant et al. 2004, Klippel et al. 2005). Previous experiments have demonstrated that cognitive schematization is influenced not only by aspects of cognitive organization that affect how we memorize spatial information, but also by perceptually induced processing. The results of such studies have provided invaluable input for the design of multimodal interactions by specifying representational and communicative characteristics of different modalities, and also allow for the evaluation of their suitability in given contexts.

Main result: The perceptual organization of the presented stimulus plays a powerful role in the acquisition of spatial knowledge, whether in a memory task or in a vis-a-vis judgement task.

Geographic Event Conceptualization

Dynamic aspects of geographic-scale phenomena continue to form a fundamental topic in geographic information science (e.g., Hornsby and Egenhofer 2000, MacEachren et al. 1999, Miller 2005, Peuquet and Duan 1995, Reitsma and Albrecht 2005, Worboys 2005). As technology advances, yielding more sophisticated systems for monitoring dynamic aspects of our environments, the need for a basic understanding of the conceptualization of dynamic processes by cognitive agents becomes more important. A formal model of the cognitive conceptualization of dynamic geographic processes would provide a basis for the identification of discrete conceptual units within continuous geographic events and processes. Such a model has applications to diverse domains, such as computing with words, the generation of natural language output, and the design of cognitively adequate interfaces to geographic information systems (GIS).

While research on the characterization of cognitive events has a long history within several sciences (for an overview see (Casati & Varzi, 1996; Zacks & Tversky, 2001) ), we still lack a good understanding of the conceptualization of geographic events. An objective of current research in geographic information science is the explicit representation of spatial events (Hornsby & Egenhofer, 2000; Worboys, 2005) , the cognitive foundations of geographic event conceptualization, however, have not been addressed sufficiently (for an exception see Peuquet 2003). This research direction aims to elicit the core of conceptual structures of geographic events . The research we propose here, however, does not aim to identify event boundaries in the first place, as, for example, reported in research on the perception on the structure of events (Zacks, Tversky, & Iyer, 2001) . In contrast, our research presupposes the existence of event classes as identified by topological and geometric transformations that characterize the behaviour of geographic regions, e.g., RCC calculi (Randell, Cui, & Cohn, 1992) , the 9-intersection model (e.g., Egenhofer & Franzosa, 1991) , or topological changes monitored in geosensor networks (Worboys & Duckham, to appear) . For static relations, for example, the RCC calculus has demonstrated cognitive adequacy (Knauff, Rauh, & Renz, 1997) . Whether is holds for dynamic relations, too, is an open question.

Miscellaneous

Algorithms for Reliable Navigation and Wayfinding

Wayfinding research has inspired several algorithms that compute the shortest, fastest, or even simplest paths between two locations. Current navigation systems, however, do not take into account the navigational complexity of certain intersections. A short route might involve a number of intersections that are difficult to navigate, because they offer more than one alternative to turn left or right. The navigational complexity of such an intersection may require modified instructions such as veer right. This paper, therefore, presents a reliable path algorithm that minimizes the number of complex intersections with turn ambiguities between two locations along a route. Our algorithm computes the (shortest) most reliable path, i.e., the one with the least turn ambiguities. Furthermore, we develop a variation of this algorithm that balances travel distance and navigational complexity. Simulation results show that traversing a reliable path leads to less navigational errors, which in turn reduces the average travel distance. A further advantage is that reliable paths require simpler instructions.

Haque, S., Kulik, L., & Klippel, A. (to appear). Algorithms for reliable navigation and wayfinding: (Spatial Cognition Conference 2006, Bremen, Germany). Springer: Berlin. Best Paper Award
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