Improving indoor wayfinding with AR-enabled egocentric cues: A comparative study

Abstract

Indoor wayfinding poses significant challenges, as navigating complex environments can be difficult and time-consuming. Augmented reality (AR) has emerged as a promising solution to address these challenges. However, understanding how to effectively leverage AR techniques for large-scale indoor wayfinding scenarios remains unclear. In particular, the implications of AR-enabled egocentric perspectives have not been thoroughly investigated. This study aims to explore the potential benefits of AR-based egocentric perspectives and their impact on indoor wayfinding performance. A human-subject experiment (N = 31) was conducted in a multi-story building, utilizing a self-developed AR system capable of providing both traditional exocentric and innovative egocentric perspectives. The results of the experiment confirmed the performance and cognitive benefits of the AR-enabled egocentric perspective. Participants using the egocentric perspective demonstrated improved wayfinding efficiency, reduced cognitive load, and enhanced spatial awareness. These findings suggest that the AR-based egocentric perspective offers a more intuitive and effective approach to indoor wayfinding, enabling users to better process spatial information and make informed decisions during wayfinding tasks. The findings are expected to provide empirical evidence on the efficacy of AR systems for wayfinding and inspire new user interface (UI) designs that would better leverage the advantages of AR techniques.