Indirect User Guidance by Pedestrians in Virtual Environments

Bönsch, Andrea; Güths, Katharina; Ehret, Jonathan; Kuhlen, Torsten

doi:10.2312/egve.20211336

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Ríos et al (2018) as well as Rios and Pelechano (2020) emphasized the influence of group behavior and the likelihood of conformity, even in small groups. In a video-based study, Bönsch et al (2021a) observed that participants tend to naturally align with simulated pedestrian flows, suggesting the effectiveness of this approach for subtly guiding users through IVEs.…”

Section: Virtual Pedestrian Flowsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Consequently, research consistently demonstrated that the use of virtual characters can effectively direct users' attention in IVEs. Extending the work of Bönsch et al (2021a), our second contribution is a more comprehensive exploration of pedestrian flows in IVEs. By recognizing the significance of a positive user experience by avoiding any adverse effects resulting from poor flow design, we, thereby, consider the state of the art in flow modulation.…”

Section: Virtual Pedestrian Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Virtual characters effectively direct users' attention within IVEs. Bönsch et al (2021a), e.g., introduced a subtle wayfinding technique that uses virtual pedestrians as social cues to steer users indirectly and subtly as they explored a scene. Despite limited interactivity and motion freedom, participants in the video-based evaluation generally followed the pedestrians as intended.…”

Section: Weak Social Wayfinding: the Pedestrian Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As defined by Bönsch et al (2021a), guiding agents form pedestrian flows and serve as social cues to guide users indirectly and subtly through the IVE. Although pedestrian flows in real-life typically consist of social groups with different group formations (Peters and Ennis, 2009;Rojas and Yang, 2013), our approach uses single VAs, moving in a socially compliant manner (van der Heiden et al, 2020), to maintain control, providing a foundation for future studies on social group dynamics during the guiding process.…”

Section: Guiding Agentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Wayfinding in immersive virtual environments as social activity supported by virtual agents

Bönsch,

Ehret,

Rupp

et al. 2024

Front. Virtual Real.

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Effective navigation and interaction within immersive virtual environments (IVEs) rely on thorough scene exploration. Therefore, wayfinding is essential, assisting users in comprehending their surroundings, planning routes, and making informed decisions. Based on real-life observations, wayfinding is, thereby, not only a cognitive process but also a social activity profoundly influenced by the presence and behaviors of others. In virtual environments, these “others” are virtual agents (VAs), defined as anthropomorphic computer-controlled characters, who enliven the environment and can serve as background characters or direct interaction partners. However, less research has been conducted to explore how to efficiently use VAs as social wayfinding support. In this paper, we aim to assess and contrast user experience, user comfort, and acquisition of scene knowledge through a between-subjects study involving n = 60 participants across three distinct wayfinding conditions in one slightly populated urban environment: (i) unsupported wayfinding, (ii) strong social wayfinding using a virtual supporter who incorporates guiding and accompanying elements while directly impacting the participants’ wayfinding decisions, and (iii) weak social wayfinding using flows of VAs that subtly influence the participants’ wayfinding decisions by their locomotion behavior. Our work is the first to compare the impact of VAs’ behavior in virtual reality on users’ scene exploration, including spatial awareness, scene comprehension, and comfort. The results show the general utility of social wayfinding support, while underscoring the superiority of the strong type. Nevertheless, further exploration of weak social wayfinding as a promising technique is needed. Thus, our work contributes to the enhancement of VAs as advanced user interfaces, increasing user acceptance and usability.

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Section: Virtual Pedestrian Flowsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Virtual Pedestrian Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Weak Social Wayfinding: the Pedestrian Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%