Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Walker, B. N.
Right arrow Articles by Lindsay, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Walker, B. N.
Right arrow Articles by Lindsay, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Navigation Performance With a Virtual Auditory Display: Effects of Beacon Sound, Capture Radius, and Practice

Bruce N. Walker

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia

Jeffrey Lindsay

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia

Objective: We examined whether spatialized nonspeech beacons could guide navigation and how sound timbre, waypoint capture radius, and practice affect performance. Background: Auditory displays may assist mobility and wayfinding for those with temporary or permanent visual impairment, but they remain understudied. Previous systems have used speech-based interfaces. Method: Participants (108 undergraduates) navigated three maps, guided by one of three beacons (pink noise, sonar ping, or 1000-Hz pure tone) spatialized by a virtual reality engine. Dependent measures were efficiency of time and path length. Results: Overall navigation was very successful, with significant effects of practice and capture radius, and interactions with beacon sound. Overshooting and subsequent hunting for waypoints was exacerbated for small radius conditions. A human-scale capture radius (1.5 m) and sonar-like beacon yielded the optimal combination for safety and efficiency. Conclusion: The selection of beacon sound and capture radius depend on the specific application, including whether speed of travel or adherence to path are of primary concern. Extended use affects sound preferences and quickly leads to improvements in both speed and accuracy. Application: These findings should lead to improved wayfinding systems for the visually impaired as well as for first responders (e.g., firefighters) and soldiers.

Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Vol. 48, No. 2, 265-278 (2006)
DOI: 10.1518/001872006777724507
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?