Digital Directions: Smartphone Usage while Performing Wayfinding Tasks in Munich’s Public Transit System.
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Abstract
Wayfinding in spatially complex public transit environments poses unique navigational challenges. Transfers, delays, barriers, and user capacity all influence the usability of a system. Because of the smartphone, how we navigate through these systems, and interact with the surrounding environment, is changing. The smartphone provides a spatio-temporal strategy that removes the reliance on our immediate environment and personalizes the wayfinding process -- unlike that of transit schedules, signs, and maps. How does smartphone usage influence performance and the wayfinding experience? This paper looks at smartphone usage of twelve participants through a shadowed commented walk, known as a Destination-Task Investigation, in Munich’s public transit system. The study provides insights into the role and the influence of smartphones during the wayfinding process. Furthermore, it shows that Apps providing integrated spatio-temporal information, such as Google, were used most frequently, especially for confirmation during navigation.
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