The main goal of my multidisciplinary research is to enhance mobile spatial assistance and data acquisition. I am interested in geographic information visualization and acquisition beyond the traditional map. In one branch of my research I develop schematic maps, highly specialized maps that are adapted to the task, the environment, and the user. schematic maps contain less information but are at the same time more efficient. The selected information is really relevant for a specific task in a specific environment for a given user. My work is based on research in the areas of spatial cognition, wayfinding behavior, place theory, geo-semantic analysis, human-computer-interaction, trajectory analysis, qualitative spatial reasoning and representation.

A further branch of my research deals with barrier-free mapping and data acquisition in the area of volunteered geographic information. Within my work in the Capacity Lab (see http://capacitylab.org/ for more details) I develop tools for micro-mapping. The focus of this work is to enable volunteers with no training or education in geographic data acquisition and classification to contribute meaningful and processable geo-data. The development of such tools is based on the combination of insights and techniques from fields like ICT4D, HCI, and spatial cognition. 

My papers contribute to small display cartography, mobile mapping, spatial cognition, location based services, ubiquitous computing, human-computer interaction, ICT4D, VGI, and moving object databases.