Overcoming navigational challenges: A novel approach to the study and assessment of topographical orientation

Several studies investigating environmental navigation require participants to navigate in virtual environments, in which the proprioceptive and vestibular components present during real environmental navigation are lost. Here, we aimed to provide a novel computerized ecological navigational battery, investigating whether the absence of proprioceptive and vestibular inputs yields a representation of the navigational space comparable to that acquired ecologically. In Study 1, 38 participants underwent two sets of tasks, one performed in a laboratory-based setting (LBS) and the other in an ecological environment (EE), with both including evaluation of route, landmark, and survey knowledge and a landmark ordering task. All tasks, except the route task, significantly correlated between EE and LBS. In LBS, performance in the landmark ordering task was predicted by that in the survey task, but not by those in the route and landmark tasks. Results of Study 1 were replicated in Study 2, in which 44 participants completed a modified and shorter online version of LBS tests. Reliability of the online LBS tests was also tested and showed a moderate-to-high internal consistency. Overall, results show that the conditions in which tasks are performed affect the acquisition of route knowledge, likely due to the lack of proprioceptive and vestibular information in LBS. However, LBS tasks presented here provide a standard battery of tests that can overcome the replicability problems encountered by ecological navigation tests, while taking into consideration all the complexities of navigational processes in terms of the use of landmark, route, and survey strategies.

Turn-by-turn route guidance does not impair route learning

Turn-by-turn GPS guidance is useful when the navigator is uncertain about the correct route. Although route guidance is convenient, it comes at a spatial cognitive cost. Compared to unguided navigation, route guidance leads to poorer knowledge of the traversed environment. However, past research has not tested the effects of route guidance on route retracing, which is an important learning goal in many situations. Participants drove a pre-defined route in a driving simulator. All participants initially followed turn-by-turn directions twice (Experiment 1) or once (Experiment 2). Those in the Study condition continued to follow route guidance during two subsequent traversals, whereas those in the Test condition relied on memory and received corrective feedback. Following a 48-hour delay, participants completed a final test in which they retraced the route without guidance. Learning condition did not influence final test performance, indicating that route knowledge is unaffected by repeatedly following route guidance.

Landmark-Based Turn-by-Turn Instructions Enhance Incidental Spatial Knowledge Acquisition

The augmentation of landmarks in auditory navigation instructions had been shown to improve incidental spatial knowledge acquisition during assisted navigation. Here, two driving simulator experiments are reported that replicated this effect even when adding a three-week delay between navigation and spatial tasks and varying the degree of detail in the provided landmark information. Performance in free- and cued-recall of landmarks and driving the route again without assistance demonstrated increased landmark and route knowledge when navigating with landmark-based compared to standard instructions. The results emphasize that small changes to existing navigation systems can foster spatial knowledge acquisition during every-day navigation.

Augmented reality head-up displays effect on drivers’ spatial knowledge acquisition

Background: Drivers gather most of the information they need to drive by looking at the world around them and at visual displays within the vehicle. Navigation systems automate the way drivers navigate. In using these systems, drivers offload both tactical (route following) and strategic aspects (route planning) of navigational tasks to the automated SatNav system, freeing up cognitive and attentional resources that can be used in other tasks (Burnett, 2009). Despite the potential benefits and opportunities that navigation systems provide, their use can also be problematic. For example, research suggests that drivers using SatNav do not develop as much environmental spatial knowledge as drivers using paper maps (Waters & Winter, 2011; Parush, Ahuvia, & Erev, 2007). With recent growth and advances of augmented reality (AR) head-up displays (HUDs), there are new opportunities to display navigation information directly within a driver’s forward field of view, allowing them to gather information needed to navigate without looking away from the road. While the technology is promising, the nuances of interface design and its impacts on drivers must be further understood before AR can be widely and safely incorporated into vehicles. Specifically, an impact that warrants investigation is the role of AR HUDS in spatial knowledge acquisition while driving. Acquiring high levels of spatial knowledge is crucial for navigation tasks because individuals who have greater levels of spatial knowledge acquisition are more capable of navigating based on their own internal knowledge (Bolton, Burnett, & Large, 2015). Moreover, the ability to develop an accurate and comprehensive cognitive map acts as a social function in which individuals are able to navigate for others, provide verbal directions and sketch direction maps (Hill, 1987). Given these points, the relationship between spatial knowledge acquisition and novel technologies such as AR HUDs in driving is a relevant topic for investigation. Objectives: This work explored whether providing conformal AR navigational cues improves spatial knowledge acquisition (as compared to traditional HUD visual cues) to assess the plausibility and justification for investment in generating larger FOV AR HUDs with potentially multiple focal planes. Methods: This study employed a 2x2 between-subjects design in which twenty-four participants were counterbalanced by gender. We used a fixed base, medium fidelity driving simulator for where participants drove while navigating with one of two possible HUD interface designs: a world-relative arrow post sign and a screen-relative traditional arrow. During the 10-15 minute drive, participants drove the route and were encouraged to verbally share feedback as they proceeded. After the drive, participants completed a NASA-TLX questionnaire to record their perceived workload. We measured spatial knowledge at two levels: landmark and route knowledge. Landmark knowledge was assessed using an iconic recognition task, while route knowledge was assessed using a scene ordering task. After completion of the study, individuals signed a post-trial consent form and were compensated $10 for their time. Results: NASA-TLX performance subscale ratings revealed that participants felt that they performed better during the world-relative condition but at a higher rate of perceived workload. However, in terms of perceived workload, results suggest there is no significant difference between interface design conditions. Landmark knowledge results suggest that the mean number of remembered scenes among both conditions is statistically similar, indicating participants using both interface designs remembered the same proportion of on-route scenes. Deviance analysis show that only maneuver direction had an influence on landmark knowledge testing performance. Route knowledge results suggest that the proportion of scenes on-route which were correctly sequenced by participants is similar under both conditions. Finally, participants exhibited poorer performance in the route knowledge task as compared to landmark knowledge task (independent of HUD interface design). Conclusions: This study described a driving simulator study which evaluated the head-up provision of two types of AR navigation interface designs. The world-relative condition placed an artificial post sign at the corner of an approaching intersection containing a real landmark. The screen-relative condition displayed turn directions using a screen-fixed traditional arrow located directly ahead of the participant on the right or left side on the HUD. Overall results of this initial study provide evidence that the use of both screen-relative and world-relative AR head-up display interfaces have similar impact on spatial knowledge acquisition and perceived workload while driving. These results contrast a common perspective in the AR community that conformal, world-relative graphics are inherently more effective. This study instead suggests that simple, screen-fixed designs may indeed be effective in certain contexts.

Landmark-Based Navigation Instructions Improve Incidental Spatial Knowledge Acquisition in Real-World Environments

The repeated use of navigation assistance systems leads to decreased processing of the environment. Previous studies demonstrated that auditory augmentation of landmarks in navigation instructions can improve incidental spatial knowledge acquisition when driving a single route through an unfamiliar virtual environment. Based on these results, three experiments were conducted to investigate the generalizability and ecological validity of incidental spatial knowledge acquisition by landmark augmentation in navigation instructions.In the first experiment, spatial knowledge acquisition was tested after watching an interactive video showing the navigation of a real-world urban route. A second experiment investigated incidental spatial knowledge acquisition during assisted navigation when participants walked through the same real-world, urban environment. The third experiment tested the acquired spatial knowledge two weeks after an assisted pedestrian navigation phase through the real-world.All experiments demonstrated better performance in a cued-recall task for participants navigating with landmark-based navigation instructions as compared to standard instructions. Different levels of information provided with landmark-based instructions impacted landmark recognition dependent on the delay between navigation and test. The results replicated an improved landmark and route knowledge when using landmark-based navigation instructions emphasizing that auditory landmark augmentation enhances incidental spatial knowledge acquisition, and that this enhancement can be generalized to real-life settings.This research is paving the way for navigation assistants that, instead of impairing spatial knowledge acquisition, incidentally foster the acquisition of landmark and route knowledge during every-day navigation.

The Effects of Information Format and Spatial Cognition on Individual Wayfinding Performance

Buildings with spatially complex interiors poise unique challenges during operations and maintenance. A complex interior makes wayfinding difficult, which can inhibit daily occupants from finding their desired location. Additionally, it can hamper emergency responders and evacuations during extreme emergency events. An experiment was conducted to analyze the effects of different information formats and spatial cognition on individual wayfinding in unknown environments. Participants were asked to memorize either a set of two-dimensional (2D) drawings or a three-dimensional (3D) model before navigating through a series of checkpoints in an unfamiliar environment. Individual wayfinding is dependent on an individual’s use of route knowledge or survey knowledge. Route knowledge was assessed from the start of the route to Checkpoint A (i.e., the first checkpoint). Meanwhile, survey knowledge was assessed from Checkpoint A to Checkpoint B. Spatial cognition of participants was measured by administering the card rotation and cube comparison tests. The research found that 3D models have a beneficial impact on the success of individual wayfinding. Furthermore, the success rate of the participants with a low spatial cognition improved significantly when using a 3D model rather than a set of 2D drawings. However, the success rates of participants with a high spatial cognition were not affected by the format of information. While the above results are significant, more experimentation is needed to confirm whether 3D information does effectively lower cognitive demand.