SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR USING VISUAL LANDMARKS IN INITIAL NAVIGATION

A route from a current location of a portable device to a destination is determined, where the route includes a sequence of directed sections. Navigation instructions to guide a user of the portable device along the route to the destination are generated. To this end, candidate navigation landmarks perceptible within a 360-degree range of the current location of the portable device are identified, a navigation landmark disposed in a direction substantially opposite to the direction of the first one in the sequence of directed sections is selected from among the candidate navigation landmarks, and an initial instruction in the navigation instructions is generated and provided via a user interface of the portable device. The initial instruction references the selected navigation landmark.