AAL solutions toward cultural heritage enjoyment

Abstract. Recent years have witnessed the rapid development of navigation systems. They gradually become the default way of navigating in our daily life. Despite benefiting from their convenience, we may be negatively influenced by them (Parush et al. 2007). Current navigation systems usually draw too much of users' attention to the mobile devices, which leads to users’ lacking interaction with the environment. It is often the case that people easily forget travelled route and get lost without navigation systems (Reilly et al. 2008). Empirical study shows that by dividing attention, navigation systems impair users’ spatial memory, and thus impact their navigation skills (Gardony et al. 2013). Since a higher engagement with the environment can improve users’ spatial knowledge acquisition without decreasing efficiency (Brügger et al. 2017), navigation systems should incorporate important environmental features.As objects of visual, cognitive or structural importance (Sorrows & Hirtle 1999), landmarks have been extensively studied, and considered as an important environmental feature to be incorporated into navigation systems (Nuhn & Timpf 2018, Richter 2017, Duckham et al. 2010, Raubal & Winter 2002). They serve as references to provide users with more natural and pleasant navigating experience (Richter & Winter 2014). However, most of landmark-related studies are in outdoor environment. Although researchers have attempted to classify and assess indoor landmarks (Ohm 2014, Viaene 2014), it is still very difficult to determine suitable ones. As a subset of semantic indoor landmarks, existing navigational aids (e.g. signs and floor plans) are designed to assist navigation. Among them, signs are most preferred by users (Wang et al. 2017). Being the signs that give necessary information to route users to possible destinations, directional signs contribute most to wayfinding (Gibson 2009). With route information explicitly presented by them, they are relevant environmental features to be incorporated into indoor navigation systems.In this study, we therefore propose to incorporate directional signs into indoor navigation systems, in order to guide users’ attention back to the environment, to facilitate their spatial learning and improve their spatial knowledge acquisition.We incorporated directional signs into a proof-of-concept indoor navigation system. First, we integrated directional signs and their semantics into a graph-based model. A directional sign was modelled as a node. Each destination on the sign was linked with the sign by an edge. In order to differentiate it from the normal edge, it was marked as semantic edge. Thus, the semantics of the sign was modelled directly into the graph, instead of being stored as attributes in a previous version of our study (Wang & Gartner 2018). Then, a top-K shortest path algorithm was employed to find candidate routes (Yen 1971). In the end, the route with the largest coverage of semantic edges was suggested to the user. The users would then be explicitly guided to follow the directional signs in the environment.In the next step, we will evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed navigation system by an empirical study with human subjects. Within the experiment, we will also investigate on whether this kind of guidance can succeed in drawing users’ attention back to the environment and support their spatial knowledge acquisition.

This paper describes construction of the M-CubITS pedestrian WYSIWYAS navigation system both in outdoor and indoor areas, toward realization of the M-CubITS pedestrian WYSIWYAS navigation environment. In outdoor navigation, we construct the experimental Saitama University campus outdoor navigation system "CamNavi" using ordinary mobile phone terminals as users' terminals and the i-application platform provided by Japanese NTT DoCoMo. Here, our studies on the outdoor system are mainly based on image processing for outdoor M-CubITS elements and a user interface for the mobile phone terminals. On the other hand, in indoor navigation, we also introduce the route guidance using the Dijkstra method and study databases. Then, we construct an experimental system at the seven-storied buildings in the faculty of engineering, Saitama University, and check the system operation

Currently, the route planning functions in 2D/3D campus navigation systems in the market are unable to process indoor and outdoor localization information simultaneously, and the UI experiences are not optimal because they are limited by the service platforms. An ARCore-based augmented reality campus navigation system is designed in this paper in order to solve the relevant problems. Firstly, the proposed campus navigation system uses ARCore to enhance reality by presenting 3D information in real scenes. Secondly, a visual inertial ranging algorithm is proposed for real-time locating and map generating in mobile devices. Finally, rich Unity3D scripts are designed in order to enhance users’ autonomy and enjoyment during navigation experience. In this paper, indoor navigation and outdoor navigation experiments are carried out at the Lingang campus of Shanghai University of Electric Power. Compared with the AR outdoor navigation system of Gaode, the proposed AR system can achieve increased precise outdoor localization by deploying the visual inertia odometer on the mobile phone and realizes the augmented reality function of 3D information and real scene, thus enriching the user’s interactive experience. Furthermore, four groups of students have been selected for system testing and evaluation. Compared with traditional systems, such as Gaode map or Internet media, experimental results show that our system could facilitate the effectiveness and usability of learning on campus.

With the invent of GPS and related technologies, outdoor navigation is simply possible with great accuracy nowadays. But we are still in need of an efficient, reliable and cheaper technology for indoor navigation. In this paper we put forward the idea of an android based application which enables efficient indoor navigation and tracks the exact location of people inside large buildings. Though different technologies like WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID e.t.c, are available for indoor navigation and location tracking, the main problem is that the implementation and maintenance costs are very high. Also, the change in climatic condition affects the working and degrades its performance. In this work, we incorporate the innovative idea of magnetic field identification technology which uses the naturally occurring magnetic fields inside the concrete buildings with simplified magnetic map matching algorithm and the idea from Route boxer algorithm for effective indoor positioning and navigation. A Smart phone with magnetic field sensor and accelerometer enables the application to provide the best indoor navigation facility to the end users.

Supporting orientation is one of the major challenges when designing pedestrian navigation systems. Especially for indoor areas, it is still an open question, which landmarks can be used to support the cognitive process of orientation. Furthermore, it has to be analyzed whether the referenced landmark type has to be adapted to different instruction types like verbal and visual displays. In order to address these questions we conducted a study with 132 participants who had to navigate different routes and give verbal instructions supplemented by drawing sketch maps. Our results show that orientation information is important in indoor areas, too. Moreover, the instruction type significantly influences the chosen orientation information. We therefore argue that it is important to incorporate orientation information in future indoor navigation systems and adapt the information based on the instruction type.

Currently, several outdoor navigation and orientation electronic traveling aid (ETA) solutions for visually impaired (VI) people are commercially available or in active development. This paper’s survey of blind experts has shown that after outdoor navigation, the second most important ETA feature for VI persons is indoor navigation and orientation (in public institutions, supermarkets, office buildings, homes, etc.). VI persons need ETA for orientation and navigation in unfamiliar indoor environments with embedded features for the detection and recognition of obstacles (not only on the ground but also at head level) and desired destinations such as rooms, staircases, and elevators. The development of such indoor navigation systems, which do not have Global Positioning System (GPS) locational references, is challenging and requires an overview and evaluation of existing systems with different navigation technologies. This paper presents an evaluation and comparison of state-of-the-art indoor navigation solutions, and the research implications provide a summary of the critical observations, some insights, and directions for further developments. The paper maps VI needs in relation to research and development (R&D) trends using the evaluation criteria deemed most important by blind experts.

Car navigation systems have made place everywhere around the globe. Outdoor navigation systems can be widely located in almost every geographical location that has access to the internet. However, indoor navigation system is very important for the pedestrians to find out their ways in complicated indoor areas such as shopping malls, subways, universities, exhibitions, underground areas, and tunnels etc. The recent rapid expansion of Wi-Fi zones and the increase of Wi-Fi equipped smartphones have enabled transformation of this idea to the reality. This work presents university indoor navigation system designed to help students, staff, and visitors to find their desired location. The work shows promising results when using distance measuring algorithm, the Trilateration, and the ITU-R P.1238 model together using the Network Simulator 2 “NS2” for the indoor navigation.

This chapter aims at exploring the concept of cultural heritage emerging in the age of globalization. Both at the global and at the EU level, an attempt to expand the notion of cultural heritage in terms of the object of protection as well as of the subjects entitled to benefit from cultural heritage can be sketched. The purpose of this chapter is to examine how the EU and the global legal systems deal with cultural heritage, considering three main aspects: (a) protection; (b) circulation; (c) and enjoyment, in order to understand whether there are conflicts between different legal regimes and how they may be solved. The analysis will reveal a multi-layered system for cultural heritage legal regulations. Three levels of protection are provided by the national law, by the European legal order and by the global legal systems. These three levels are interdependent. The development of an open and adjustable notion of cultural heritage, which depends on the value expressed by the cultural good considered, influences the definition of the instruments aimed at ameliorating the preservation and enjoyment of cultural heritage in the domestic legal orders.

Autonomous navigation is a crucial aspect of the visually impaired community’s pursuit of independence and social equity. To achieve this goal, visually impaired people (VIP) require a navigation and wayfinding system that works both outdoors and indoors. While outdoor navigation can rely on ubiquitous signals such as global navigation satellite system (GNSS), indoor navigation presents a significant challenge, especially in unfamiliar environments. Despite over two decades of research and development, the issue of delivering a high performance and cost-effective indoor positioning solution for VIPs remains unresolved. Bluetooth-based angle of arrival (AOA) positioning is a cost-effective method that offers accuracy ranging from upper decimeters to meters. However, it still faces challenges in detecting and mitigating outliers caused by nonline-of-sight (NLOS) and multipath effects during signal propagation. In light of these challenges, this article proposes a novel dead reckoning aided AOA Bluetooth indoor positioning system that utilizes a smart cane. The developed model takes into account the swinging characteristic of the cane, which is integral to visually impaired individuals’ mobility. Furthermore, this article incorporates a novel outlier detection and exclusion layer to reduce the impact of NLOS and multipath effects. The proposed system’s performance was evaluated through a series of experiments, and the positioning error distribution was analyzed. The results showed that the accumulated probability of errors less than 0.5 m was 93.56%, and 99.64% of errors were within 0.7 m. With the demonstrated high level of accuracy, the proposed system presents a promising solution for indoor navigation for VIPs.

The development of indoor navigation systems should utilize advanced teleinformation, geoinformation and cartographical knowledge. The authors analyzed available specifications of prototypes of indoor navigation systems and drew conclusions about how to enhance the use of cartographical methods in the whole process of designing a new system. The analysis proves that cartographical methodology is still very limited in the process of designing indoor navigation systems. Researchers focus mainly on improving the positioning accuracy, and they often neglect the issue of developing spatial databases and the rules of their effective visualization. The process of designing indoor navigation systems, just like in the case of outdoor navigation systems, consists of a number of tasks that can be supported by the theory and practice of cartography. This article presents the issues of determination of spatial database model appropriate for an indoor system, improvement of accuracy of positioning algorithms utilizing spatial data and methodology of generating graphical and voice directions for indoor navigation. In the authors’ opinion, the discussed cartographical methods and techniques may considerably enhance indoor navigation systems and accelerate their development. The fundamental knowledge of cartographical methods should be within the interest of designers of these systems. At present the first attempts in this field may be observed, although they are still not mature and complex

Because of its high time-domain resolution, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is capable of precise range measurement and has been applied in many accurate indoor positioning systems. This paper presents a practical indoor positioning and navigation system using the UWB modules we developed based on Decawave UWB chipset. In order to enhance the performance of the system in NLOS scenarios, a neural network approach is integrated. The feasibility of the combined approach is analysed and its accuracy is evaluated. The experiment results indicate that the neural network can maintain a stable accuracy no matter whether it is in an NLOS scenario and it is capable to identify the locations on two trajectories which are next to each other with very high confidence.

This paper deals with navigation of mobile device in outdoor and indoor environment by only navigation system or application. In the paper, the navigation system is proposed in the light of seamless navigation service. Main parts of the system from positioning point of view are based on GPS and WifiLOC system. WifiLOC is an indoor positioning system based on Wi-Fi technology. The proposal of the system will be described in detail. The system is implemented at the University of Zilina as a pilot, noncommercial project; therefore it is called University Mobile Navigation System (UMNS). The navigation system can be characterized as real-time system, that is, the system operations cannot be significantly delayed. Since delay of the system depends significantly on communication platform used for map information downloading or communication with the localization server. We decided to investigate an impact of the used communication platform on the time needs for some of the functions implemented in navigation system. Measurements were performed in the real-world application. Next experiment is focused on testing of the accuracy of used indoor positioning system. Outdoor positioning accuracy is not tested because GPS is utilized in outdoor, and this system was already exhaustively investigated.

Named data networking (NDN) is a new and promising Internet architecture, which aims to replace the current transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP)-based Internet. The NDN internet architecture has introduced several benefits in numerous applications. An NDN-based indoor positioning and navigation system can further optimize existing localization technologies with reduced the server load and faster response time. In this study, an NDN-based approach for the existing Wi-Fi fingerprinting-based indoor positioning and navigation was investigated. Among the many features of NDN, the network-level caching can reduce the computational load and response time of the localization and navigation server. The theoretical analysis of the runtime complexity shows that the NDN's network-level caching performance is better than those of the conventional algorithms. In this paper, naming methods for different services and a server-side algorithm for handling the NDN requests are proposed. The real-world implantation and testing results show a better overall performance than that of TCP/IP. This network-level optimization for indoor positioning and navigation opens new opportunities because it can be combined with other application-level optimization techniques for more efficient indoor positioning and navigation in the future.

People generally find themselves lost while visiting a new indoor location because they are unaware of the building’s architecture, especially when it is a large one or a shopping mall. The Global Position System (GPS) does not work properly in the indoor environment because of the satellite signal attenuation. In this paper, to assist people in finding their path, a Li-Fi (Light-Fidelity) based Indoor Positioning System (IPS) is proposed. A framework is developed based on a Li-Fi LED lamp transmitter and a dongle receiver connected to an Android smartphone to decode the received sequence. The pathfinding graph-based algorithm is proceeded in a REST architecture by a Web service consulting the graph-path database both installed on a Raspberry pi 4. The proposed solution is a low cost and does not require any additional infrastructure. It is easy to implement in most indoor environments like hospitals, buildings, and campuses. A short survey of techniques and algorithms for indoor positioning and navigation with the help of smartphones is also presented.

GPS-based navigation systems have been developed to support the walking of visually impaired people. However, their use in station premises and malls presented difficulties due to radio wave interference. In such places, an indoor navigation system (IDNS) was indispensable. Recently, an IDNS using geomagnetism that did not require the installation of new infrastructure attracted our attention. It incorporated technology to detect self-position by association with a geomagnetic fingerprint (GMFP) database, which included the geomagnetic vector of the current position, stored in advance on the cloud. However, to realize navigation over an entire floor, a detailed geomagnetic map of the floor was needed, taking a lot of time and labor to measure the geomagnetic field. In this research, we proposed a novel method that limited the area of the GMFP to places above braille blocks and linked the geometric maps to braille block maps. The main features of our system were as follows: (1) Reduction of labor and time required to make the GMFP; (2) Realization of a real-time navigation system with little error in estimated position; (3) A high-resolution geomagnetic map database could be easily made by walking with a nearly fixed stride length without any specific equipment. To confirm the principal operation of our system, we made a prototype system. We then evaluated the performance of our system under various experimental conditions. Finally, we demonstrated a simple navigation system. As a result, we were able to confirm that our system could estimate self-position in real-time with little error and provide simple navigation for visually impaired people.