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A. Millonig:
"Ubiquitous Navigation Support - Let the Environment Guide You";
Talk: Sign09, Wien; 2009-12-03 - 2009-12-11.

People who try to find their way in an unfamiliar environment use a variety of different cues to orient themselves in physical space and to navigate to a specific desired destination. Usually, navigation support is given by signage or "You-Are-Here-Maps"; recently also mobile navigation services using emerging technologies are under development. However, all these solutions are passive, and people have to find and filter the information relevant to their wayfinding tasks.

A new approach now aims at using a ubiquitous environment which perceives the user and provides customised information. Wayfinding information can be supplied via a mobile device, with helpful notes via a public display, or via other presentation tools using different perceptual channels (e.g. visual, acoustic, haptic). Thus, effective support of wayfinding can be achieved by using technologies originated in ubiquitous computing to enrich guiding systems by including information captured from an active environment.