In this article, we have seen that, for each route, Situm generates a set indications that the user must perform in order to advance. As shown in the following figure, (1) Situm Mapping Tool allows you to test this feature by turning ON the "Show indications during navigation" option in the Display and Advanced Settings Menu. You may also turn ON the "Indications with sounds enabled" option, which will read the instructions aloud in English (default) or Spanish, depending on your locale.
Each indication is composed by an action type (turn, go ahead, change floor), and either a change in orientation or a distance to traverse (see this article for more details). You can see an example of each in the following figure (2).
While the user is navigation, Situm Mapping Tool will always show (and/or read) the (1) current and next instruction. In case the next instruction requires a "Turn" action, SMT will show (2) the current, the next, and the next after the next instruction. As explained in this article, the indications are continously updated to account for the user advance and orientation changes.
Distance to next indication
As we have seen, a route is a set of linked points that the user has to traverse, and each indication helps the user to get to the next point. When the user executes correctly the current action, the next indication will be presented, until the user gets to the end destination.
It is not reasonable to think that, when we tell the user "Go ahead for 10 meters", she will advance exactly 10 meters and reach exactly the next point on the route. This is why Situm Mapping Tool allows you to define a threshold within which this point will be considered reached. This threshold can be modify by setting the value "Distance to next indication" in the Route and Navigation Settings.
As an example, consider the following figure. In (1), the user is in a location 7 meters away from the next point of the route. Since, the distance to the next indication is 4 meters (less than 7), the user is not considered to have reached the next point and therefore the next instruction is "Go ahead for 7 meters". In (2), however, the user is still 7 meters away, but since the distance to the next indication is 10 meters, the user is considered to have reached the next point in the route and therefore the next indication is "Turn right".
Distance to change floor
Another option is the "Distance to change floor", which can be changed in the Route and Navigation Settings menu. In essence, it works exactly as the "Distance to next indication option": the only difference is that it only operates when the next point in the route is a floor change (e.g. take stairs, elevator, etc.).
Indications interval
By default, every time the user moves or turns, the whole set of instructions is recomputed. This ensures that the user is presented with the right instruction always, given its last location.
In some cases, however, this can damage the user experience. Consider, for instance, the following figure. In (1), the user should "turn left" to face the right direction. However, in less than a second, she "turns around" by mistake and then "turns right". Situm generates all the intermediate instructions: (2) "Go ahead for 9 meters", (3) "Turn right", (4) "Go ahead for 9 meters". What's worse, if the "Indications with sounds enabled" is turned ON, all those instructions will be read to the user. This will be certainly confusing (and anoying) for the user.
To avoid such situations, you may control how fast the set of indications is re-computed with the "Indications interval" option in the Route and Navigation Settings menu. In the previous example, an "Indications interval" of a few seconds would avoid to show (and read) the indications (2) and (3), resulting in a smoother user experience.
Round indications
The indications of type "Go ahead" tell the user to advance a certain amount of meters: 1 meter, 10 meters, 47 meters, etc. In a real setting, it makes sense to approximate the distance to a more round number. After all, there's no real difference between advancing 47 meters and 50 meters (except that 50 meters is more user friendly).
You can control the round step by setting the "Round indications" value in the Route and Navigation Settings menu.
As an example of how this works, consider the following figure.
- The "Round indications" value has not been changed, therefore the exact distance (8 meters) is shown.
- The "Round indications" value is set to 3, therefore the distance is rounded up to the closest multiple of 3, which is 9.
- The "Round indications" value is set to 5, therefore the 8 meters are rounded up to the closest multiple of 5, which is 10.
- Be careful! If you set the "Round indications" value too high, you may end up with unreasonable results.
Time to return the first indication
Sometimes, the first locations provided by Situm may be a bit jumpy. In this case, the first indications may not be accurate, or may even confuse the user. If this is the case, you may set up a delay between the first location and the first indication. This will allow the system to converge a bit more, increasing the chance that the first indication is correct.
You may do this by setting the value "Time to return the first indication" value in the Route and Navigation Settings menu.
