Spatial Electronic Mnemonics for Augmentation of Human Memory

Abstract

In this paper we propose a novel approach to augmenting human memory based on spatial and graphic information using wearable and smartphone devices. Mnemonics is a technique for memorizing a number of unstructured items that has been known for more than two millennia and was used in ancient Greece. Although its utility is remarkable, acquiring the skill to take advantage of mnemonics is generally difficult. In this study we propose a new method of increasing the effectiveness of classic mnemonics by facilitating the process of memorizing and applying mnemonics. The spatial electronic mnemonics (SROM) proposed here is partly based on an ancient technique that utilizes locations and images that reflect the characteristics of human memory. We first present the design of the SROM as a working hypothesis that augments traditional mnemonics using a portable computer. Then an augmented virtual memory peg (vMPeg) that incorporates a graphic numeral and a photograph of a location is introduced as a first implementation for generating a vMPeg. In an experiment, subjects exhibited remarkable retention of the vMPegs over a long interval. The second phase of placing items to remember on a generated vMPeg was also examined in a preliminary experiment, which also indicated good subject performance. In addition to evaluating the SROM by anylysing the scores for correct recall, a subjective evaluation was performed to investigate the nature of the SROM.