The influence of slope-based navigation interface on cognition and experience in complex mountain cities

Abstract

Users tend to lose their sense of direction in complex mountain cities while using navigation software. In a real environment, people can apply multiple slope of perception (e.g. vision, kinesthesia and vestibular sensation) to perceive the existence of slopes [1]. Based on the concept of user perceivable slope, this study explores whether the slope information can improve the user’s experience of road finding by putting it on the interface of mobile navigation software.This study is aimed to discuss the effects of slope information used in navigation on complex slopy roads. Two hypotheses are proposed: (1) The interface with slope information will improve the efficiency of wayfinding; (2) The slope information will stimulate the multi-interaction experience and help users (pedestrians) to build stereo-space cognition. Based on those hypotheses, a control experiment using a slope information navigation interface was designed. In the experiment, 30 participants were assigned with either the original navigation software or a navigation software interface with slope information for pathfinding. It is found that the participants who use slope information navigation have higher three-dimensional cognitive ability, so they have better confidence in road finding and user experience.