A personalized navigation guide using a social-spatial ontology

Abstract

Map services help people find places they wish to visit. Users input the target address and the system returns that location on a map, with additional information such as nearby points of interest, directions to the location, etc. However, these applications mainly focus on general knowledge, failing to provide personalized information that may help users find/identify a place faster. In this paper, we present a map application based on previous user knowledge. We represent two types of knowledge - spatial and social - in the form of a social-location ontology. This ontology is then used to present a destination based on places familiar to the user. By showing an unknown location in terms of a familiar place, we allow the user to find the target location with much briefer instructions. This is especially useful on mobile devices, in which the limited screen size restricts the amount of information that can be displayed. In order to adapt to new knowledge, the ontology evolves as the user visits new places and meets new people. Our evaluation shows that users prefer to have concrete information related to a destination for easier understanding.