People go out together: a neglected context factor in pedestrian assistance systems

Pedestrian navigation systems (PNS) are currently not as frequently used as navigation systems for cars. We think, this is due to the PNS’s lack of considered context factors. In this paper we argue that actually the social contacts of the users are an important context factor for PNSs. Our argumentation is based on the results of two studies which we have conducted concerning outgoing behavior of humans. The results show that over 60% of all pedestrians in their leisure time go out in groups. Thus, PNSs should incorporate this important factor. We will present a novel PNS for groups (PNS4G), which allows a group of individuals to get assistance in meeting and navigation to a common goal, e.g. for going to the cinema.