Navigating Points of Interest: The Dog-Walker Pathfinding Algorithm

Natsuki Tsutsui, Shohei Yokoyama

2025

Abstract

Navigating complex environments that encompass both road networks and points of interest (POIs) demands innovative pathfinding solutions. Traditional algorithms, such as Dijkstra’s, primarily focus on finding the shortest path between nodes on a graph and are not designed to handle the additional complexity of scattered POIs. This paper introduces the dog-walker pathfinding algorithm, a novel approach that integrates the discovery of waypoints and greedy routing into a single process. By simulating the dynamics between two agents—a dog motivated by POIs and a walker navigating a graph—the algorithm dynamically identifies routes that connect key locations and pass through areas rich in POIs. This method leverages road networks and POIs to provide routes from the start point to the end point tailored to user preferences. Owing to the minimal data requirements for POIs, this method can be easily integrated with various data sources, including X( formerly Twitter), Google Maps, and Instagram. In this study, we develop an agent-based online algorithm inspired by the dogwalker. We verified the algorithm using POI data obtained from Flickr and Google Maps, demonstrating its application in real-world scenarios such as recommending tourist routes. Demonstrations show that our algorithm effectively generates routes that align with user preferences, as evidenced by qualitative and quantitative assessments. Additionally, we demonstrated that our method operates more rapidly than methods utilizing Dijkstra’s algorithm.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Tsutsui N. and Yokoyama S. (2025). Navigating Points of Interest: The Dog-Walker Pathfinding Algorithm. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Geographical Information Systems Theory, Applications and Management - Volume 1: GISTAM; ISBN 978-989-758-741-2, SciTePress, pages 27-38. DOI: 10.5220/0013238800003935

in Bibtex Style

@conference{gistam25,
author={Natsuki Tsutsui and Shohei Yokoyama},
title={Navigating Points of Interest: The Dog-Walker Pathfinding Algorithm},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Geographical Information Systems Theory, Applications and Management - Volume 1: GISTAM},
year={2025},
pages={27-38},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013238800003935},
isbn={978-989-758-741-2},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Geographical Information Systems Theory, Applications and Management - Volume 1: GISTAM
TI - Navigating Points of Interest: The Dog-Walker Pathfinding Algorithm
SN - 978-989-758-741-2
AU - Tsutsui N.
AU - Yokoyama S.
PY - 2025
SP - 27
EP - 38
DO - 10.5220/0013238800003935
PB - SciTePress