A systematic review of human odometry.

Abstract

Human odometry refers to an individual's ability to travel between locations without eyesight and without designating a conscious effort toward spatially updating themselves as they travel through the environment. A systematic review on human odometry was completed for the purpose of establishing the state-of-the-art of the topic, and based on this information, develop meaningful hypotheses using Strong Inference. The following databases were searched up to February 16, 2023, and accessed through University of Nebraska at Omaha proxied databases: IEEEXplore, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, PubMed Central, SCOPUS, and Web of Science. Of the 7,060 articles reviewed, 23 met our inclusion criteria and were accumulated for their contents and quality. Methodologies, limitations, strengths, and future solutions based on those 23 articles are discussed. In summary, young healthy adults are the typical population examined, and distance perception can be manipulated with distance or gait type. Odometry can be studied using simple measurement tools, participants are often given 3-4 attempts to correctly perceive an average distance of 14.3 m, and the average article is of moderate quality with a mean score of 6.13. Many literature gaps, variability in methodology, and insufficient detail, can be amended by the addition of slightly more detailed manuscripts in future publications.