Navigating in a virtual environment with model-generated support

Though the cognitive processes controlling user navigation in virtual environments as well as in websites are similar, cognitive models of web-navigation have never been used for generating support in virtual environment navigation. We created a simulated 3D building of a hospital and presented users various navigation tasks under two conditions: a control condition and a model-generated support condition. Mean task-completion time and disorientation were recorded. It was found that the cognitive model used can simulate the navigation behavior of participants and also that with model-generated support participants took significantly less time to reach their destination and were significantly less disoriented. The impact of providing model-generated support on disorientation was especially higher for users with low spatial ability. We demonstrated that it is possible to generate tools for navigation in virtual environments using cognitive models developed for web-navigation.