How the Difference in Vantage Points of Maps Affects Our Navigation Performance? : An Analysis of Universities’ Campus Maps

Abstract

This study investigates effective design for paper maps. Maps are powerful navigation support tools, but applying effective map design to improve usability during navigation is difficult. Recent developments in digital mapping technology have dynamically altered the relationship between maps and users. Previous studies have found that the frequent use of pedestrian navigation systems that incorporate the Global Positioning System can sometimes have a negative effect on the ability to navigate abilities. For this reason, paper maps are due for a re-examination as navigation support tools today. A survey on university campus maps and a comparative navigation test incorporating involving maps with different vantage points were performed to examine how the differences in vantage points of maps affect the results of navigational tasks.

Before the navigation test, we overviewed the features of the map design employed in current Japanese university campus maps. The perspectives, orientations, and symbols used in the maps from 664 university campus maps in Japan were surveyed. Of these 664, 447 had a bird’s-eye view orientation, while 223 universities had planimetric ones.

Then, tests were conducted to explore the relationship between the perspectives and navigation performance. The tests were designed in reference to the study by Murakoshi, which suggested that human navigation considers three subtasks: grasping one's position, panning, and keeping track. The 318 examinees were 166 university students and 152 junior high school students. Of these, 158 participants completed tasks using bird’s-eye view prototype campus maps (BPMs), while other 160 used planimetric prototype campus maps (PPMs).

The results were as follows. Subjects using BPMs showed superior performance to that of subjects using PPMs, especially with respect to grasping one’s own position and keeping track. For example, 85 subjects using the BPMs performed two tasks of grasping their position completely, while only 48 students did the same tasks completely with PPMs. Regarding the task of keeping track, 73 subjects using BPMs answered correctly, and 31 students with PPMs did so. These results suggest that the depiction of the color of buildings on BPMs can aid examinees in performing tasks. We consider it to be appropriate that more than 70% of Japanese campus maps are portrayed using a bird's-eye perspective, as we mentioned below.

In contrast, the results of the test for the planning task suggest a complex relationship between navigational tasks and map reading. More subjects that used using the BPMs could plan over short distances, but, at the same time, they made mistakes in planning than those using the PPMs. Furthermore, the performance differed between university students and junior high school ones. We assume that university students performed better than junior high students due to differences in navigational experience.

These tests showed that both planimetric maps and bird's-eye view maps had their own distinct advantages as navigational aids. Hence, in creating a navigation map, we must carefully consider which map designs are suitable for this purpose and users and the areas that the maps draw. We must also keep in mind that maps have various functions, including expressing spatial knowledge and presenting images and impressions. Effective map designs suited to these various purposes, in addition to navigational ones, should be explored.