Effectiveness of Memorizing an Animated Route—Comparing Satellite and Road Map Differences in the Eye-Tracking Study

Abstract

There is no consensus on the importance of satellite images in the process of memorizing a route from a map image, especially if the route is displayed on the Internet using dynamic (animated) cartographic visualization. In modern dynamic maps built with JavaScript APIs, background layers can be easily altered by map users. The animation attracts people’s attention better than static images, but it causes some perceptual problems. This study examined the influence of the number of turns on the effectiveness (correctness) and efficiency of memorizing the animated route on different cartographic backgrounds. The routes of three difficulty levels, based on satellite and road background, were compared. The results show that the satellite background was not a significant factor influencing the efficiency and effectiveness of route memorizing. Recordings of the eye movement confirmed this. The study reveals that there were intergroup differences in participants' visual behavior. Participants who described their spatial abilities as “very good” performed better (in terms of effectiveness and efficiency) in route memorizing tasks. For future research, there is a need to study route variability and its impact on participants’ performance. Moreover, future studies should involve differences in route visualization (e.g., without and with ephemeral or permanent trail).

Measuring Efficiency and Accuracy in Locating Symbols on Mobile Maps Using Eye Tracking

“…Motion simulation in mobile app recordings is similar to animated maps. As a result, similar problems occur, e.g., problems with the user retaining large amounts of information that appear in subsequent scenes [16]. Symbols appear on the screen, move and disappear, which can make it difficult to read the map.…”

Map Symbols in Video Games: the Example of “Valheim”

“…Surveying methods in cartography are studied through: directly supervised surveys, tasks performed in the field by means of mobile devices, direct observation of the user, observation with remote saving of the user's movement and eye-tracking observation (Cybulski 2021;Horbiński et al 2021;Medyńska-Gulij et al 2020;Cybulski 2020). Collecting data by means of online survey constitutes one of the best methods of obtaining subjective information about users' opinions (Horbiński et al 2020).…”

Eye Tracking Research in Cartography: Looking into the Future

“…As examples, research studies which aim to examine the influence of map labels [19] and map legends [20] in the map perception process, can be mentioned. Moreover, previous years' eye tracking has been used as the main experimental method for the evaluation of the effectiveness of specific types of maps (e.g., [21][22][23]) or different map-based graphical user interfaces (e.g., [24]) working either on typical or smaller (i.e., smartphones) displays [25], under different types of tasks (e.g., [26,27]) and conditions. Substantial contributions have also been presented in the domains of geography map-use education [28,29] and in geovisualization tools' learnability effects [30].…”