Spatial Knowledge Acquisition with Mobile Maps: Effects of Map Size on Users’ Wayfinding Performance with Interactive Interfaces

Chien-Hsiung Chen,Xiao Li

doi:10.3390/ijgi9110614

Abstract

Restricted by the small screen size, it is challenging for users to obtain all the wayfinding content they need when utilizing mobile devices. This study investigated the effects of map size and interactive interface on users’ wayfinding performance and preference when using mobile devices. Two types of interactive interfaces (i.e., panning and peephole interfaces) and three different map sizes (i.e., small, medium, and large) were examined. The experiment was a 2 × 3 between-subjects design. Sixty participants were invited to complete five wayfinding tasks (i.e., Euclidean distance judgment, route distance judgment, landmark recognition, map section rotation, and route recognition), a system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire, and the subjective preference questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) The participants’ wayfinding performance was affected by the map size and interactive interface; (2) the peephole interface was superior for the Euclidean distance judgment and the route recognition tasks; (3) it does not always take a significantly longer time to complete the task with the larger map when performing the map section rotation task with the panning interface; and (4) the usability scores of the peephole interface were considered above average, and it had a positive impact on the participants’ preferences.

Highlights

Interacting with a user interface to acquire spatial knowledge often occurs during wayfinding with a mobile device
Experimental Results Because the experiment is a 3 × 2 between-subjects design, the results were analyzed using the two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS)
This study explored how different map sizes affect users’ wayfinding performance and preferences in the peephole and panning interface

Summary

Introduction

Interacting with a user interface to acquire spatial knowledge often occurs during wayfinding with a mobile device. Mobile devices such as tablets, mobile phones, and wearable devices are accessible and portable, and people can interact with the mobile device screen to observe and investigate maps. With the rapid development of modern technology, the interactive interface of mobile devices could mitigate the shortcomings of their limited screen size. When users acquire spatial knowledge from a mobile map, the different map sizes may influence the wayfinding performance [3,4,5,6]. On the basis of our preliminary work [7], this study examined the effects of two factors (i.e., interactive interface and map size) on users’ wayfinding performance

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion