Redefining Global and Local Landmarks: When Does a Landmark Stop Being Local and Become a Global One?

Demet Yesiltepe*, Ruth Conroy Dalton, Ayse Ozbil Torun, Sam Noble, Nick Dalton, Michael Hornberger, Hugo Spiers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Landmarks are key elements in the wayfinding process. The impact of global and local landmarks in wayfinding has been explored by many researchers and a large body of evidence around landmarks and landmark usage has been discussed [1, 2]. However, there is one aspect of landmark research that is still not clear: when can a landmark be termed “global” as opposed to when can it be classified as being “local”? Is it necessary for a global landmark to be seen from any/every location in a setting [3], or is it acceptable if it is seen merely from many angles and many locations (and if so, how many?) [4]? At what point does a local landmark become a global landmark? Where is the threshold between these? In this study, our goal is to redefine global and local landmarks based on the visibility of landmarks along routes. For this purpose, we used Sea Hero Quest (an online game) and explored landmark visibility in virtual game environments to find if there is a threshold between local/global landmarks. Participants were asked to navigate a boat and to find goal locations in river/waterway environments. Meanwhile, the visibility of landmarks from the perspective of the game-player was recorded. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating a new and innovative method of using landmark visibility to reclassify global and local landmarks.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSpatial Cognition XII
Subtitle of host publication12th International Conference, Spatial Cognition 2020, Riga, Latvia, August 26–28, 2020, Proceedings
EditorsJurgis Skilters, Nora S. Newcombe, David Uttal
Place of PublicationCham, Switzerland
PublisherSpringer
Pages111-121
Number of pages11
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9783030579838
ISBN (Print)9783030579821
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2020
Event12th International Conference on Spatial Cognition, SC 2020 - Riga, Latvia
Duration: 26 Aug 202028 Aug 2020

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume12162 LNAI
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference12th International Conference on Spatial Cognition, SC 2020
Country/TerritoryLatvia
CityRiga
Period26/08/2028/08/20

Keywords

  • Landmark
  • Navigation
  • Spatial learning
  • Visibility
  • Wayfinding

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