Designing indoor navigation interfaces on smartphones compatible with human information processing in an emergency evacuation scenario

Abstract

In the discussion of the multiple aspects of underground urban facilities, emergency measures during disasters need to be appropriately planned to evacuate and relocate people instantly. People are prone to losing their way in large indoor spaces. Smartphones are equipped with multiple sensors and a multimedia interface; these features are now standard tools that be utilized as personal evacuation guides. Under the mental stress of emergency evacuation, people tend to make different perceptual judgments and decisions when processing the information on an interface. This study summarizes the current smartphone navigation system interfaces on the market as seven samples for the experiment. We chose the most advantageous information elements from the results to design two types of interfaces, namely continuous route view navigation and survey view navigation. Through experimental observation and think-aloud analysis of on-site simulation testing results, the proposed interface is both legible and readable and provides minimum message loading to guide users.

Keywords

• display of information
• smartphone navigation
• wayfinding
• indoor space
• spatial knowledge
• emergency evacuation