Some evidences of the impact of environment's design features in routes selection in virtual environments

Abstract

This paper reports results from a research project investigating users' navigation in a Virtual Environment (VE), using immersive Virtual Reality. The experiment was conducted to study the extent that certain features of the environment (i.e., colors, windows, furniture, signage, corridors' width) may affect the way users select paths within a VE. Thirty university students participated in this study. They were requested to traverse a VE, as fast as possible and without pausing, until they reached the end. During the travel they had to make choices regarding the paths. The results confirmed that the window, corridors' width, and exit sign factors are route predictors in the extent that they influence the paths selection. The remaining factors did not influence significantly the decisions. These findings may have implications for the design of environments to enhance wayfinding. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.