# Pharos: improving navigation instructions on smartwatches by including global landmarks

## TL;DR

Pharos enhances smartwatch navigation by incorporating globally recognizable landmarks into instructions, improving user confidence and mental map accuracy without the need for local landmark selection.

## Contribution

The paper introduces Pharos, a system that uses global landmarks in navigation instructions, simplifying landmark selection and improving navigation experience.

## Key findings

- Users navigate more confidently with global landmarks.
- Global landmarks help users build more accurate mental maps.
- Feasibility demonstrated across multiple cities worldwide.

## Abstract

Landmark-based navigation systems have proven benefits relative to traditional turn-by-turn systems that use street names and distances. However, one obstacle to the implementation of landmark-based navigation systems is the complex challenge of selecting salient local landmarks at each decision point for each user. In this paper, we present Pharos, a novel system that extends turn-by-turn navigation instructions using a single global landmark (e.g. the Eiffel Tower, the Burj Khalifa, municipal TV towers) rather than multiple, hard-to-select local landmarks. We first show that our approach is feasible in a large number of cities around the world through the use of computer vision to select global landmarks. We then present the results of a study demonstrating that by including global landmarks in navigation instructions, users navigate more confidently and build a more accurate mental map of the navigated area than using turn-by-turn instructions.