Spatial Learning and Wayfinding in an Immersive Environment: The Digital Fulldome

Abstract

Previous work has examined whether immersive technologies can benefit learning in virtual environments, but the potential benefits of technology in this context is confounded by individual differences such as spatial ability. We assessed spatial knowledge acquisition in male and female participants using a technology not previously examined empirically: the digital fulldome. Our primary aim was to examine whether performance on a test of survey knowledge was better in a fulldome (N=28, 12 male) relative to a large, flat screen display (N=27, 13 male). Regression analysis showed that, compared to a flat screen display, males showed higher levels of performance on a test of survey knowledge after learning in the fulldome, but no benefit occurred for females. Furthermore, performance correlated with spatial visualisation ability in male participants, but not in female participants. Thus, the digital fulldome is a potentially useful learning aid, capable of accommodating multiple users, but individual differences and use of strategy need to be considered. planetariums. This provides a seamless wrap-around display for large scale digital projection.A recent review outlined how the fulldome's unique features relate to the psychology and IVE literature 1 , and suggested avenues for research into their application. Three priorities were highlighted, the first two concern addressing whether an advantage is shown for fulldome environments over standard forms of presentation, and if so, for which tasks. The third priority concerns individual differences that may moderate learning in a fulldome environment. Here, we begin to address these with an empirical study examining whether the benefits found in other IVEs can also be observed for a spatial learning task, while taking into account gender and spatial ability. Spatial learning in virtual environmentsSpatial learning has been a prominent focus in IVE and computer display research, with visual immersion being a primary focus for many IVEs 2-7 . Research in to spatial learning has been prominently influenced by a model formulated by Siegel and White 8 , which identifies three components of spatial knowledge: landmark knowledge, which concerns key points in the environment, route knowledge, which concerns the transition between two or more locations in the environment and survey knowledge, which concerns abstracted knowledge of the overall layout of an environment, typically contained in the form of a map.It was originally suggested that these three components reflected the development of spatial knowledge, and that the individual begins by learning landmarks and their associations in a list-like manner, and, with experience, develop a richer, allocentric map of the environment. SPATIAL LEARNING IN A DIGITAL FULLDOME 4However, the time scale of this progression is unclear, and further work has shown that some individuals acquire survey knowledge with minimal exposure 9 .The utility of IVEs in spatial learning relies on identifying the ways in which features of the e...

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