Simulating Navigation for Spatial Knowledge Acquisition

Abstract

This paper compares actual and simulated navigation as alternative sources of environmental information. Subjects experienced an 8.3-km tour of an unfamiliar environment through one of two media: a live bus tour along the route or a film shot from inside an automobile driving along the route. Subjects also received one of two types of supplementary information (a map that was studied prior to navigation or an oral narrative giving angle and distance information during navigation), or no supplement. After exposure to the environment, all subjects completed tests of landmark knowledge, procedural (route sequence) knowledge, and survey (configural relation) knowledge. Film (simulated navigation) groups performed as well as or better than tour groups on measures of landmark and survey knowledge. On tests of procedural knowledge, film groups were inferior to tour groups in their ability to point in the direction of unseen landmarks. Supplementary information affected only the film groups. Map study enhanced performance on survey knowledge tests but depressed performance on procedural knowledge tests. We conclude that simulated navigation can be used as a substitute for actual navigation under some circumstances, and that a map supplement can enhance the abstraction of survey knowledge from simulated navigation.

Navigating virtual mazes: The benefits of audiovisual landmarks

“…When one of these three tasks was completed early, participants had to wait until the time for the task expired. The tasks were adopted from earlier studies exploring spatial memory and navigation [60,61,62]. A pilot study showed that they were sensitive to landmark presentation modality.…”

Inertial cues do not enhance knowledge of environmental layout

“…Finally, comparing the performance of the full-cue group with that of the inertial group could provide information about the role of additional sources of information (e.g., increased visual f idelity, f ield of view, and the ability to look around freely) used when people acquire knowledge of an environment. This comparison would serve as a replication of Goldin and Thorndyke's (1982) experiment.…”

“…In one of the few studies in which the role of inertial information in acquiring knowledge of large-scale environments has been addressed, Goldin and Thorndyke (1982) asked participants to learn the spatial characteristics of an 8-km route through a Los Angeles neighborhood. Half of the participants in their experiment (the tour group) were driven in a bus along the route.…”

User-centered iterative design of a collaborative virtual environment

“…Route knowledge is based on an egocentric (inside-out) viewpoint and is demonstrated by the ability to move from one landmark to another along a prescribed path. Route knowledge can be gained through repeated exposure to an environment map or through simulated exposure to the environment via a medium such as video (Goldin & Thorndyke, 1982).…”

“…Route knowledge is based on an egocentric (inside-out) viewpoint and is demonstrated by the ability to move from one landmark to another along a prescribed path. Route knowledge can be gained through repeated exposure to an environment map or through simulated exposure to the environment via a medium such as video (Goldin & Thorndyke, 1982).Finally, survey (or configurational) knowledge is the highest level of spatial knowledge. It represents a map-like or top-down mental encoding of the environment and is based on an exocentric (outside-in) viewpoint.…”