Research Spotlight

How we describe place

Imagine you witnessed an accident and needed to call an ambulance, but you did not know where you were. How would you describe your location to the operator? You might mention a nearby landmark or main street, but if you are in an unfamiliar city, you may only be able to describe the colours of the buildings around you. Associate Professor Stephan Winter is leading a research team to try and bridge the gap in the way we explain locations and how mapping services such as Google Maps and in-car navigation systems translate our instructions. Assoc Prof Winter said:

Computers require specific instructions and can struggle to interpret the often-vague way we describe place. We must overcome this in order to enable smarter navigation and mapping services. Improving computer recognition of natural language will lead to more effective communication and will also assist in emergency situations, potentially saving lives.

A key component of the team’s research is a mobile phone game; users simply log in and confirm where their phone has located them on a map, and type in a description of where they are. These natural-language descriptions are then used by the research team to gather the words we use to describe a place.