A STUDY USING VR ON THE EASE OF FINDING SIGNS IN STATION SPACE

Abstract

 A sign is a means of conveying information such as directions to destinations, usage information and advertisements for products and services, in a space where many people gather.

 Public spaces need to provide information that can be used easily on the spot to various people, and it is considered essential to show information constantly. In order for the user to obtain the necessary information from signs, they must be found and recognized.

 In this study, other signs and decorations were focused as elements of contrast with the surroundings. The real space (a concourse at a major terminal station in Tokyo) was reproduced by 3DCG and presented on a screen or VR space showed by head-mounted display for experiments.

 In Experiment 1, evaluation of the conspicuity of the target sign by stationary subjects was conducted using adjustment method. It was suggested that when a subject did not move his / her line of sight, it is mainly based on the range of 6 degree from the center of the sight as judging the conspicuity of the target signs and ease of finding them. Moreover, it was suggested that the area of “attractant” around the target signs disturbed the conspicuity of the target signs. In this study, “attractant” refers to other signs, decorations, or other things that contain information that being in the field of view.

 In Experiment 2, the relationship between the area of “attractant” around the target signs and the time to find the target signs was examined by a sign search experiment with looking around in the VR space. It was suggested that it is based on the range of 10 degree from the center of the sight as judging the conspicuity of the target signs and ease of finding them with looking around.

 The area of “attractant” had a major impact on the ease of finding signs. The same was true for colors used on the signboard surface. In particular, if a high contrast combination such as white and black is not used, it is considered that signs will easily blend into background.

 In Experiment 3, the subjects walked and searched the target signs in the VR space, and the relationship between advertisement display conditions, age group, and ease of finding the sign (time to search, distance to find) was examined. The time to search and the color code did not affect the search time, it was suggested that the signs could be easily found by preventing them from blending into the surrounding visual environment. It was shown that the influence of the advertisement display condition on the distance to find is limited. In order to be able to find the sign from a long distance, it is considered necessary to change the conditions of the sign itself more than the presence of “attractant” such as surrounding advertisements.

 In future research, in order to be able to predict the ease of finding from the state of the attractant in the actual space, it is necessary to increase the pattern such as the type of “attractant” and the positional relationship with the sign, and conduct a more detailed examination.