Wayfinding/navigation within a QTVR virtual environment: preliminary results

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation into wayfinding principles, and their effectiveness within a virtual environment. To investigate these principles, a virtual environment of an actual museum was created using QuickTime Virtual Reality. Wayfinding principles used in the real world were identified and used to design the interaction of the virtual environment. The initial findings suggests that real-world navigation principles, such as the use of map and landmark principles, can significantly help navigation within this virtual environment. However, navigation difficulties were discovered through an Activity Theory-based Cognitive Task Analysis.