Physically large displays improve performance on spatial tasks

Abstract

Large wall-sized displays are becoming prevalent. Although researchers have articulated qualitative benefits of group work on large displays, little work has been done to quantify the benefits for individual users. In this article we present four experiments comparing the performance of users working on a large projected wall display to that of users working on a standard desktop monitor. In these experiments, we held the visual angle constant by adjusting the viewing distance to each of the displays. Results from the first two experiments suggest that physically large displays, even when viewed at identical visual angles as smaller ones, help users perform better on mental rotation tasks. We show through the experiments how these results may be attributed, at least in part, to large displays immersing users within the problem space and biasing them into using more efficient cognitive strategies. In the latter two experiments, we extend these results, showing the presence of these effects with more complex tasks, such as 3D navigation and mental map formation and memory. Results further show that the effects of physical display size are independent of other factors that may induce immersion, such as interactivity and mental aids within the virtual environments. We conclude with a general discussion of the findings and possibilities for future work.

Assessment of wheelchair driving performance in a virtual reality-based simulator

“…Subjects got stuck, or they were unable to remove the wheelchair away from the site of collision, more often on the PC screen than on the VR screen. Similar results were found by Tan et al 39 In the beginning of the research session subjects were allowed to practice virtual driving until they felt comfortable. In future studies, we plan to have a more structured training regimen which may help in reducing errors while driving.…”

Active and passive contributions to spatial learning

“…These sources of information could be vital for keeping track of the distance traveled and the magnitude of body rotations. The size of the display may also affect performance on spatial tasks (Tan, Gergle, Scupelli, & Pausch, 2006). In addition, the relation between motor efference and visual reafference in desktop VR is different from that in walking and, thus, may affect visual path integration.…”

Do We Need to Walk for Effective Virtual Reality Navigation? Physical Rotations Alone May Suffice

“…Many of these parameters have been shown to impact human spatial orientation performance (Riecke, Schulte-Pelkum, & Bülthoff, 2005;Riecke et al, 2002;Tan, Gergle, Scupelli, & Pausch, 2006Tan, Gergle, Scupelli, & R.Pausch, 2005;Alfano & Michel, 1990). Moreover, Ruddle and colleagues themselves had demonstrated that replacing an HMD with a desk-top monitor reduces navigation performance in VR, indicated by increased navigation times and less accurate sense of straight-line distances (Ruddle, Payne, & Jones, 1999).…”