BEGIN seminar – Dr Eva Nuhn
Date: Tuesday, 12th of May 2026, at 14:00 (UK Time)
Location- Online only (MS Teams).
Beyond Visual Landmarks: Auditory and Olfactory Cues for Urban Navigation
Abstract:
In this talk, I will present an exploration of alternative sensory modalities to landmark navigation that extend beyond the traditional visually modality. While current research primarily relies on visual landmarks such as buildings or signs, these approaches may not be sufficient for all users, particularly visually impaired or elderly individuals, or in situations where visual cues are limited or absent.
The presentation introduces the potential of olfactory and auditory information as complementary or alternative sources for navigation and wayfinding. Based on a series of online studies and focus-group interviews, we identified and analysed distinct classes of smells and sounds in urban environments. We mapped olfactory landmarks in terms of characteristics such as intensity, temporal variation, and qualitative properties, revealing that many urban smells are related to food and waste and often change depending on time or season. Similarly, we mapped auditory landmarks, recording temporality and loudness, finding that most urban sounds stem from traffic and human noises and have a daily or seasonal dependency.
Additionally, I present the results of an experiment evaluating auditory cues for their effectiveness as navigational landmarks. We found that certain sounds, particularly those associated with traffic lights signals, are especially useful, while others are less reliable (e.g., conversations and fans). Overall, this presentation highlights that incorporating landmarks from other modalities than vision into navigation systems can be helpful and support wayfinding.
Recording:
Bio:
Dr. Eva Nuhn is a Research and Teaching Associate in the Geoinformatics Group at the University of Augsburg. She previously worked as an IT specialist and as a research assistant at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich. Her research centers on navigation and wayfinding, with a particular focus on pedestrian navigation using landmarks and the cognitive aspects of human wayfinding. She investigates a wide range of landmarks across diverse environments such as urban, rural, and aquatic settings, and explores how they are perceived through different sensory modalities including visual, auditory, and olfactory cues. To gain deeper insights into how people use these landmarks across environments and modalities, she designs and conducts experimental studies that inform the development of more intuitive navigation systems.
