The Human, the Built Environment and the Technology: Identifying Key Configurations for a User-Friendly Wayfinding System at Transport Hubs

• Published in: IOP conference series. Materials Science and Engineering 2020-12, Vol.960 (3), p.32088
• Main Authors: Fian, Tabea, Hauger, Georg
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Airports; Built environment; Complexity; Configurations; Electronic devices; Hubs; Morphology; Navigation; Railway stations; Smartphones; Subway stations; Subways; Tablet computers; Transport buildings, stations and terminals; Urban environments; User groups; User requirements; Wayfinding
• ISSN: 1757-8981; 1757-899X
• DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/960/3/032088

Neither an entirely analogue nor an entirely digital wayfinding system can meet all user requirements for navigation and orientation in a complex transport hub (such as a railway station, a metro station or an airport). This paper presents considerations on a holistic, barrier-free and user-friendly wayfinding system at transport hubs by describing wayfinding elements provided through humans, the built environment and specific technologies. For each of the three mentioned categories, a detailed set of wayfinding elements (morphological field) is compiled. Environmental elements include signs, plans or landmarks while technology-based elements consider any form of wayfinding support on mobile devices (such as smart phones, tablets or watches). Human-related support in wayfinding represents classic forms of personal information or personal assistance by passengers or employees. In order to integrate the user perspective and the complexity of different user requirements, an additional set of user groups (such as people with visual impairments, people with hearing impairments or people with mobility impairments) and their wayfinding-specific requirements is composed. With a focus on intersecting the identified wayfinding elements and the user-specific wayfinding requirements, a Morphological Analysis is conducted. This methodological approach represents a multi-dimensional, non-quantified method for delineating key configurations of wayfinding elements that cover the widest range of user-specific requirements in orientation and navigation at transport hubs. Based on the Morphological Analysis, recommendations for a holistic, barrier-free and user-friendly wayfinding system are formulated. The elaborated recommendations form the basis for a feasible implementation strategy of future wayfinding systems at transport hubs.