Visualising distant off-screen landmarks on mobile devices to support spatial orientation

Abstract

Mobile devices have become increasingly popular in supporting persons to find their ways in our daily lives. Research has been initiated to address issues including the efficiency of wayfinding instructions and the effect of using mobile devices on spatial awareness including cognitive mapping and spatial orientation. In this paper, we present our initial work on the design of mobile map display that visualises distant landmarks at the edge of mobile screen to support spatial orientation. Empirical assessments show that the visualisation of distant landmarks, in comparison with the visualisation without distant landmarks, contributes positively to persons with low sense of direction to be spatially oriented. Furthermore, this design dramatically reduces the frequency of zooming activity on mobile devices. Results indicate the potentials and challenges of extending this design into routing services that could further support user's wayfinding efficiency and spatial awareness.