A person's cognitive map, or knowledge of large-scale space, is built up from observations gathered as he travels through the environment. It acts as a problem solver to find routes and relative positions. as well as describing the current location. The TOUR model captures the multiple representations that make up the cognitive map, the problemsolving strategies, it uses, and the mechanisms for assimilating new information. The representations have rich collections of states of partial knowledge, which support many of the performance characteristics of common-sense knowledge. 1

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We present a task-based taxonomy of navigation techniques for 3D virtual environments, used to categorize existing techniques, drive exploration of the design space, and inspire new techniques. We briefly discuss several new techniques, and describe in detail one new technique, Speed-coupled Flying with Orbiting. This technique couples control of movement speed to camera height and tilt, allowing users to seamlessly transition between local environment-views and global overviews. Users can also orbit specific objects for inspection. Results from two competitive user studies suggest users performed better with Speed-coupled Flying with Orbiting over alternatives, with performance also enhanced by a large display.

We present a qualitative method for a mobile robot to explore an unknown environment and learn a map, which can be robust in the face of various possible errors in the real world. Procedural knowledge for the movement, topological model for the structure of the environment, and metrical information for geometrical accuracy are separately represented in our method, whereas traditional methods describe the environment mainly by metrical information. The topological model consists of distinctive places and local travel edges linking nearby distinctive places. A distinctive place is defined as the local maximum of some measure of distinctiveness appropriate to its immediate neighborhood, and is found by a hill-climbing search. Local travel edges are defined in terms of local control strategies required for wavel. How to find distinctive places and follow edges is the procedural knowledge which the robot learns dynamically during exploration stage and guides the robot in the navigation stage. An accurate topological model is created by linking places and edges; and allows metrical information to be ac- cumulated with reduced vulnerability to metrical errors. We describe a working simulation in which a robot, NX, with range sensors explores a variety of 2-D environments and we give its successful results under varying levels of random sensor error.

The Task Gallery is a window manager that uses interactive 3D graphics to provide direct support for task management and document comparison, lacking from many systems implementing the desktop metaphor. User tasks appear as artwork hung on the walls of a virtual art gallery, with the selected task on a stage. Multiple documents can be selected and displayed side-by-side using 3D space to provide uniform and intuitive scaling. The Task Gallery hosts any Windows application, using a novel redirection mechanism that routes input and output between the 3D environment and unmodified 2D Windows applications. User studies suggest that the Task Gallery helps with task management, is enjoyable to use, and that the 3D metaphor evokes spatial memory and cognition.

Published reports suggest that males significantly outperform females in navigating virtual environments. A novel navigation technique reported in CHI 2001, when combined with a large display and wide field of view, appeared to reduce that gender bias. That work has been extended with two navigation studies in order to understand the finding under carefully controlled conditions. The first study replicated the finding that a wide field of view coupled with a large display benefits both male and female users and reduces gender bias. The second study suggested that wide fields of view on a large display were useful to females despite a more densely populated virtual world. Implications for design of virtual worlds and large displays are discussed. Specifically, women take a wider field of view to achieve similar virtual environment navigation performance to men.

We present a general theory of topological maps whereby sensory input, topological and local metrical information are combined to define the topological maps explaining such information. Topological maps correspond to the minimal models of an axiomatic theory describing the relationships between the different sources of information explained by a map. We use a circumscriptive theory to specify the minimal models associated with this representation.

Abstract. Navigation services communicate optimal routes to users by providing sequences of instructions for these routes. Each single instruction guides the wayfinder from one decision point to the next. The instructions are based on geometric data from the street network, which is typically the only dataset available. This paper addresses the question of enriching such wayfinding instructions with local landmarks. We propose measures to formally specify the landmark saliency of a feature. Values for these measures are subject to hypothesis tests in order to define and extract landmarks from datasets. The extracted landmarks are then integrated in the wayfinding instructions. A concrete example from the city of Vienna demonstrates the applicability and usefulness of the method. 1

Wayfinding is part of everyday life. This study concentrates on the development of a conceptual model of human navigation in the U.S. Interstate Highway Network. It proposes three different levels of conceptual understanding that constitute the cognitive map: the Planning Level, the Instructional Level, and the Driver Level. This paper formally defines these three levels and examines the conceptual objects that comprise them. The problem treated here is a simpler version of the open problem of planning and navigating a multi-mode trip. We expect the methods and preliminary results found here for the Interstate system to apply to other systems such as river transportation networks and railroad networks.

Many training applications of virtual environments (VE's) require people to be able to transfer spatial knowledge acquired in a VE to a real world situation. Using the concept of fidelity, we examine the variables that mediate the transfer of spatial knowledge and discuss the form and development of spatial representations in VE training. We report the results of an experiment in which groups were trained in 6 different environments (no training, real world, map, VE desktop, VE immersive, and VE long immersive) and then asked to apply route and configurational knowledge in a real world maze environment. Short periods of VE training were no more effective than map training; however with sufficient exposure to the virtual training environment, VE training eventually surpassed real world training. Robust gender differences in training effectiveness of VE's were also found. Spatial Knowledge Transfer p. 3 Introduction Virtual environment (VE) training is based on the assumption t...