A Conceptual Model for Navigation in Highway Network

A Conceptual Model for Navigation in Highway Network (in German)

Sabine Timpf, Max Egenhofer, and Andrew Frank

Abstract

This paper argues that human navigation in a highway network (e.g., the U.S. interstate network) is a multi-level problem. Humans may use multiple levels of abstraction, representing different parts of geographic space, to carry out a single navigation task. We identified three different abstraction levels and subtasks to be performed: (1) planning, (2) instruction giving, and (3) driving. These tasks and their representations are formalized with the help of algebraic specifications to form a conceptual model. The formalization may be used for designing car navigation systems and appropriate geographic databases.