Bigger is better: Large visual displays improve spatial knowledge of a virtual environment

Abstract

This study examined the effect of physical display size on spatial knowledge of a virtual environment (VE). Previous research by Tan (2004) found that performance for a path integration task in a VE was superior on a large display compared to a small one, even with visual angle held constant. This may be because large displays evoke a more egocentric frame of reference than small displays. To test whether the advantages of large displays extended to a navigation transfer task, the present studies examined the effect of display size on transferring knowledge about the spatial layout of a desktop VE to virtual reality (VR). Participants used a joystick to control their movement through a virtual city environment, finding and learning the locations of five targets separated by buildings. After 20 minutes of learning, participants’ spatial knowledge was tested in a fully immersive environment by using virtual reality. Participants stood at each target location and pointed to each of the other, unseen targets. In the first study participants learned the VE on either an 18” LCD display or a 112” projected display. Visual angle was not equated. In the second study participants learned the VE on either a 25” or 72” projected display and visual angle was held constant. In both studies we found the average angular pointing error was significantly lower on the large display. Our results suggest that the advantage of a large desktop display for a virtual environment transfers to VR and is not dependent on visual angle. Bigger is Better: Large Visual Displays Improve Spatial Knowledge of a Virtual Environment