Table 2 provides an overview of the various properties of the four prototypes. From Figure 74 we see that system complexities and functionality increase along the X-axis direction (as does requirement for Internet connectivity). Battery usage (use of haptic feedback) increases along the Y-axis. The comparison of the features and functionalities of all the four pedestrian navigation prototypes of the Haptic Pedestrian model has been summarised in Table 3.
Yamabe et al. (2008) feels that current mobile interaction methods is not designed well enough to consider human mobility factors. They add that although user attention is considered an important human factor for user interface design, current mobile location based service is too much attention-consuming for users on the move to perform tasks like walking and using the mobile service simultaneously. Yamabe et al. feel this is because such mobile services are still pursuing the desktop-miniaturization trend and thus, these mobile services are intended to work in situations when the user is stationary like when the user is standing on a street or sitting on a chair.
Figure 74: The comparison of functionalities of the four HapticPedestrian prototypes.
Table 2: Summary of the mobile device features of the four HapticPedestrian prototypes StayOnPath Navigator WayPointer DestinationPointer
Haptic feedback Yes Yes Yes Yes
Compass usage No Yes Yes Yes
GPS on Yes Yes Yes Yes
Vibration Continuous At Waypoints On request On request
Internet usage High Medium Low Low
Battery usage High High Low Low
Revised approaches to interaction design are the key issue that needs to be addressed with regards to a wider use of geo-spatial applications like pedestrian navigation systems (Krum et al., 2007). However once these applications are designed keeping in mind that the interaction and system designers understand that the use of such automated system is always the secondary task for pedestrians, more people will integrate such systems into their day-to-day lives. User Centred Design is the key to develop a mobile pedestrian navigation system that is flexible to provide the user with the option to switch between modalities (vision, audio, touch) based on the user context like for example in conditions which do not allow use visual interfaces effectively like when it rains (Figure 75).
We know that wayfinding tasks are performed by humans very regularly. And humans use previously acquired knowledge of the route, and also their own spatial awareness and ability to tackle such tasks in the real-world. Parush has found that, in general, there is degradation of spatial knowledge amongst the general public caused by the extensive use and reliance upon automated systems for navigation and spatial data discovery (Parush, 2012). And the work by Jacob et al. shows that users who used haptic feedback as compared to landmark image based navigation produced better maps based on memory recall (Jacob et al., 2012a). This shows that haptics is an important modality that should be integrated to mobile location based services like pedestrian navigation systems to provide subtle feedback to users and enabling low-interaction use of technology based on the physical context of the user. Haptic feedback for navigation assistance while walking along busy streets in known or unknown places ensures that the user can concentrate on the physical world and can easily avoid obstacles like other pedestrians while on the move. Haptic feedback ensures privacy as the subtle feedback by casual pointing and scanning gestures ensures quick response by system and faster
Figure 75: Visual interfaces for navigation are inappropriate and not very useful in conditions like a rainy day.
action taken by users with respect to change in walking directions especially at decision making waypoints. While audio feedback in car navigation systems ensure that the driver can concentrate on the road and be provided with feedback in a non-obtrusive way, for users on the move by foot, haptic feedback can be suitable to provide navigation assistance in a non-obtrusive way to pedestrians.
In Chapter 4 we saw integration of haptics into knowledge discovery based systems.
And in this chapter we have seen how haptic feedback can be used to provide informa-tion to assist pedestrians in navigating from one place to the other. In chapter 5 we describe the stage 3 activity as described in Chapter 3 which is about notifying the user or alerting them with regards to location information. We discuss location based noti-fication systems and also discuss the integration of haptics to provide information to a public transport user which comprises of pedestrian navigation assistance and in-transit information.
Table 3: Overview of the features and functionalities of the four HapticPedestrian prototypes
Phone can be held in the hand or left in the pocket
Phone is held in the hand for per-forming the scanning operation
Phone is held in the hand for per-forming the scanning operation when at points along the trip the users wishes to reassure them-selves of the shortest path from current location
Phone is held in the hand for per-forming the scanning operation when at points along the trip the users wishes to reassure when they need to make a change in their walking direction
Does not require user attention while walking as they are in ‘ex-plore mode’ and so will only need to query when in doubt
Does not require user attention while walking as they are in ‘ex-plore mode’ and so will only need to query when in doubt
Feedback only when pointing in the direction of the next way-point or alert about arrival at a new waypoint
7 Notification System
7.1 Introduction
When a user receives an incoming phone call, he is not always able to look at the phone or have the ringer turned on. If the user is busy with some activity, they use the vibration alarm to ensure subtle and less intrusive ways to provide that information. Kanai et al.
used visual and audio cues to issue notications for assisting the elderly in identifying dangers intuitively and recognizing them visually (Kanai et al., 2008). Rossnagel and Scherner proposed a disaster management system, based on mobile telecommunication where civilians will be notified of a disaster based on the user’s locations close to the disaster (Rossnagel and Scherner, 2006). Thus the use of such notification systems vary based on the situation.
In this chapter we show how location based notification systems (LBNS) are used and where they can be improved by integrating haptic feedback. We also learn the impor-tance of such location based notification systems by describing a model for a public transport user.