The co-evolution of taxi drivers and their in-car navigation systems

In the recent years, the massive use of in-car navigation systems has symbolized the emergence of location-based services for wayfinding. This market success creates the opportunity to learn from a realworld use of present location-aware systems in order to inform the design of future applications. In that context, we are using an ethnographic approach to study the different ways taxi drivers rely on their navigation system. First, this work focuses on describing how location technologies impacted the wayfinding practices and similarly how the practice influences the appropriation of navigation systems. This co-evolution starts from the acquisition and setup of a navigation system to mastering the system shortcomings and limitations. Second, we study the criteria that steer a driver in selecting among the different modes of a navigation system and the other artifacts and tools (e.g. maps, street directories, landmarks) he or she uses for location awareness and wayfinding. Moreover, we ...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: PERCOM
• Authors: Fabien Girardin, Josep Blat
• Keywords: Computer Networks, In-car Navigation Systems, Navigation Systems, PERCOM 2010, Wayfinding