1,065 research outputs found

    Is spatial intelligibility critical to the design of largescale virtual environments?

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    This paper discusses the concept of 'intelligibility', a concept usually attributed to the design of real-world environments and suggests how it might be applied to the construction of virtual environments. In order to illustrate this concept, a 3d, online, collaborative environment, AlphaWorld, is analyzed in a manner analogous to spatial analysis techniques applied to cities in the real world. The outcome of this form of spatial analysis is that AlphaWorld appears to be highly 'intelligible' at the small-scale, 'local neighborhood' level, and yet is completely 'unintelligible' at a global level. This paper concludes with a discussion of the relevance of this finding to virtual environment design plus future research applications

    Three levels of metric for evaluating wayfinding

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    Three levels of virtual environment (VE) metric are proposed, based on: (1) users’ task performance (time taken, distance traveled and number of errors made), (2) physical behavior (locomotion, looking around, and time and error classification), and (3) decision making (i.e., cognitive) rationale (think aloud, interview and questionnaire). Examples of the use of these metrics are drawn from a detailed review of research into VE wayfinding. A case study from research into the fidelity that is required for efficient VE wayfinding is presented, showing the unsuitability in some circumstances of common metrics of task performance such as time and distance, and the benefits to be gained by making fine-grained analyses of users’ behavior. Taken as a whole, the article highlights the range of techniques that have been successfully used to evaluate wayfinding and explains in detail how some of these techniques may be applied

    The Effects of Finger-Walking in Place (FWIP) on Spatial Knowledge Acquisition in Virtual Environments

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    Spatial knowledge, necessary for efficient navigation, comprises route knowledge (memory of landmarks along a route) and survey knowledge (overall representation like a map). Virtual environments (VEs) have been suggested as a power tool for understanding some issues associated with human navigation, such as spatial knowledge acquisition. The Finger-Walking-in-Place (FWIP) interaction technique is a locomotion technique for navigation tasks in immersive virtual environments (IVEs). The FWIP was designed to map a human’s embodied ability overlearned by natural walking for navigation, to finger-based interaction technique. Its implementation on Lemur and iPhone/iPod Touch devices was evaluated in our previous studies. In this paper, we present a comparative study of the joystick’s flying technique versus the FWIP. Our experiment results show that the FWIP results in better performance than the joystick’s flying for route knowledge acquisition in our maze navigation tasks

    Navigation Assistance in Virtual Worlds

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    Exploring Possibilities: Virtual Reality in Nursing Research

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    This paper describes the use of virtual reality (VR) as a method of measurement in nursing research. VR refers to the use of computerized displays to display a life-like environment in which the user interacts. Although many disciplines are beginning to use VR environments in research, nursing has yet to embrace this technology. Nursing, as a profession which values the interaction between the environment, individual, and health, can benefit from the use of VR in research. Establishing reliability and validity of the VR tool selected for research is important and requires special consideration. VR testing can produce side effects, such as vertigo and discomfort, which must be anticipated in the research protocol

    I am here - are you there? Sense of presence and implications for virtual world design

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    We use the language of presence and place when we interact online: in our instant text messaging windows we often post: Are you there? Research indicates the importance of the sense of presence for computer-supported collaborative virtual learning. To realize the potential of virtual worlds such as Second Life, which may have advantages over conventional text-based environments, we need an understanding of design and the emergence of the sense of presence. A construct was created for the sense of presence, as a collaborative, action-based process (Spagnolli, Varotto, & Mantovani, 2003) with four dimensions (sense of place, social presence, individual agency, and mediated collaborative actions). Nine design principles were mapped against the four dimensions. The guiding question for the study\u27s exploration of the sense of presence was: In the virtual world Second Life, what is the effect on the sense of presence in collaborative learning spaces designed according to the sense of presence construct proposed, using two of the nine design principles, wayfinding and annotation? Another question of interest was: What are the relationships, if any, among the four dimensions of presence? The research utilized both quantitative and qualitative measures. Twenty learners recruited from the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University carried out three assigned collaborative activities in Second Life under design conditions foregrounding each of the two design conditions, and a combination of the two. Analyses from surveys, Second Life interactions, interviews and a focus group were conducted to investigate how various designed learning environments based in the virtual world contributed to the sense of presence, and to learners\u27 ability to carry out collaborative learning. The major research findings were: (a) the construct appears robust, and future research in its application to other virtual worlds may be fruitful; (b) the experience of wayfinding (finding a path through a virtual space) resulted overall in an observed pattern of a slightly stronger sense of place; (c) the experience of annotation (building) resulted overall in an observed pattern of a slightly stronger sense of agency; and (d) there is a positive association between sense of place and sense of agency

    The Influence of Airport Terminal Wayfinding Model on Travellers’ Behaviour at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal, Malaysia

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    The purpose of this research is to assess the traveller’s wayfinding behaviour of airport terminal access design. Airport wayfinding is defined as a process in which a traveller makes a decision to navigate using information support systems in order to arrive to destination successfully. Quantitative data is acquired to give meaningful results justifying the research outcomes and allow non-biased interpretation of the research results. It represents the process within the development of the methodology and the concept of airport terminal access design and human wayfinding behaviour. The questionnaire is used to increase the reliability and validity of the research. Respondents who volunteered for the study are chosen among the travellers in airport terminal. The Mean, Standard Deviation (SD) and Two-Way ANOVA test were used to analyse the results and discussed with reference to the general needs as standard design of airport terminal access and take into account the preference of travellers’ general experience. The paper will conclude by suggesting guidelines for airport terminal wayfinding design that will seek to optimise the relative aspirations of all parties concerned. Although many studies have been conducted on wayfinding in general, a detailed evaluation on airport terminal wayfinding design and human wayfinding behaviour in respect of travellers were still unexplored domains
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