Indoor Wayfinding and Navigation

13

2

The Role of Affect on Expanding

Indoor Spatial Knowledge

Samvith Srinivas

Stephen C. Hirtle

CONTENTS

2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 14

2.2 Learning New Spaces: Experimental Evidence .......................................15

2.2.1 Method ..............................................................................................15

2.2.1.1 Participant Recruitment ................................................... 16

2.2.1.2 Materials ............................................................................. 16

2.2.1.3 VR Environments .............................................................. 16

2.2.2 Design ................................................................................................19

2.2.3 Procedure .......................................................................................... 19

2.2.3.1 Practice Session .................................................................19

2.2.3.2 Training Phase ...................................................................20

2.2.3.3 Testing Phases ...................................................................20

2.2.3.4 Measures ............................................................................20

2.3 Results ...........................................................................................................21

2.3.1 Spatial Abilities and Learning .......................................................21

2.3.2 Learned Space ..................................................................................21

2.3.2.1 Time ....................................................................................21

2.3.2.2 Wrong Turns ......................................................................22

2.3.3 Extended Space ................................................................................25

2.3.3.1 Time ....................................................................................25

2.3.3.2 Wrong Turns ...................................................................... 26

2.3.3.3 Motivation .......................................................................... 29

2.4 Discussion ..................................................................................................... 29

Acknowledgments ................................................................................................ 32

References ...............................................................................................................32

14 Indoor Wayfinding and Navigation

Abstract: Indoor spaces are fundamentally different from outdoor spaces in

terms of the lack of vistas and restrictions on movement. Past literature on

how individuals build indoor spatial knowledge over time through extended

navigation routes is reviewed. New virtual reality studies on learning indoor

spaces using either simple routes or complex routes under either motivated

conditions or control conditions are presented. Participants in the motivated

group were encouraged to perform the task as quickly as possible, while the

control group was under no specic time constraints. Both groups were then

tested on their ability to follow schematized instructions to explore unfa-

miliar areas in the virtual reality environment. Performance of the various

spatial tasks across the motivated and control groups indicated that motiva-

tion improved performance in all but the most complex conditions. Results

of the research suggest to those who design built environments and future

waynding systems the importance of considering route complexity and

knowledge and affect of the traveler.

2.1 Introduction

Waynding is a fundamental task that humans and other species are involved

in on a constant basis (Golledge, 1999). The study of waynding behavior has a

rich history in the literature, including the comparison of navigation behavior

in familiar and unfamiliar environments (e.g., Streeter, Vitello, & Wonsiewicz,

1985) and the study of route directions in outdoor environments (e.g., Denis,

Pazzaglia, Cornoldi, & Bertolo, 1999; Fontaine & Denis, 1999). This general

line of research has examined a waynder’s acquisition of spatial knowledge

(Golledge, 1992), a waynder’s conceptualization and internal representations

of space (Mark, Freksa, Hirtle, Lloyd, & Tversky, 1999; Tversky, 1993), a way-

nder’s interaction with navigation aids (Krüger et al., 2004; Streeter et al.,

1985), and the importance of landmarks (Raubal & Winter, 2002; Sorrows &

Hirtle, 1999; Tom & Denis, 2003), among many other areas.

Researchers have also explored the waynding concepts related to envi-

ronments and route directions of varying complexity and granularity.

Klippel and colleagues (2009) explored methods to provide cognitively ergo-

nomic route directions that account for urban granularities. Tenbrink and

Winter (2009) explored the nature of route directions generated by humans

and systems to describe traveling through multimodal (walking and public

transport) environments. Schmid (2007, 2008) explored the formulation of

route descriptions that depend on an individual’s spatial knowledge. In this

work, Schmid automatically generated route directions that vary depending

on one’s level of spatial familiarity.