Aligning information browsing and exploration methods with a spatial navigation aid for mobile city visitors

Navigation support concerning both physical space as well as information spaces address fundamental information needs of mobile users in many application scenarios including the classical shopping visit in the town centre. Therefore it is a particular research objective in the mobile domain to explore, showcase, and test the interplay of physical navigation with navigation in an information space that, metaphorically speaking, superimposes the physical space. We have developed a demonstrator that couples a spatial navigation aid in the form of a 2D interactive map viewer with other information services, such as an interactive web directory service that provides information about shops and restaurants and their product palettes. The research has raised a number of interesting questions, such as of how to align interactions performed in the navigation aid with meaningful actions in a coupled twin application, and vice versa, how to reflect navigation in an information space in the aligned spatial navigation aid.