1. Using Lighting to Enhance Wayfinding
Shawn Blake
James Hall
Samantha Sissel
December 15, 2011

2. Outline Background Method Results and Discussion Limitations
Future Work
Conclusion

3. Background

4. Background
Wayfinding: the art of using landmarks, signage, pathways, and environmental cues to help first time visitors navigate and experience a site without confusion
Taylor and Socov (1974): classic light cues experiment
Designed to show how many people would navigate around a barrier using light cues
Both sides lit, 69% went to the right
Left side higher illumination, 75% went to the left

5. Background
Yorks and Ginthner (1987): effects that wall lighting has on desk selection
Three desks: one near the door, one in the middle, and one at the far side of the room
Room illumination equal, participant sat at desk closest to the door
Back wall had higher illumination, participant crossed the room to sit at the desk at the far side of the room
Experiments using wayfinding cues have not been conducted using a VE

6. Background
Wayfinding is a common issue when exploring virtual environments

7. Background
Goal: To determine if lighting is an effective, yet unobtrusive means of guiding the user through the environment

8. Method

9. Method Screenshots: Source SDK Hammer Editor and Garry’s Mod
Initial design of experiment had more screenshot variations
Decision to have a 3 x 5 model
Both Sides Lit, No Sign
Left Side Lit, No Sign
Right Side Lit, No Sign
Both Sides Lit, Arrow Left
Left Side Lit, Arrow Left
Right Side Lit, Arrow Left
Both Sides Lit, Arrow Right
Left Side Lit, Arrow Right
Right Side Lit, Arrow Right
Both Sides Lit, Exit Left
Left Side Lit, Exit Left
Right Side Lit, Exit Left
Both Sides Lit, Exit Right
Left Side Lit, Exit Right
Right Side Lit, Exit Right

10. Method

11. Method 20 participants Within-group study, 15 screenshots Procedure:
7 females
13 males
Within-group study, 15 screenshots
Procedure:
Calibrate eye tracker
Explained experiment while participant viewed a control screenshot
Participant made a decision—travel to the left or to the right of the barrier—by clicking the corresponding direction for each screenshot

12. Results

13. Results Images Towards Light/Predicted Path Away from Light 13 7 16 3
Both Sides Lit, No Sign 13 7
Both Sides Lit, Arrow Left* 16 3
Both Sides Lit, Arrow Right 15 5
Both Sides Lit, Exit Left 4
Both Sides Lit, Exit Right
Left Side Lit, No Sign 18 2
Left Side Lit, Arrow Left 19 1
Left Side Lit, Arrow Right* 12 6
Left Side Lit, Exit Left
Left Side Lit, Exit Right* 11
Right Side Lit, No Sign*
Right Side Lit, Arrow Left*
Right Side Lit, Arrow Right 17
Right Side Lit, Exit Left*
Right Side Lit, Exit Right*
* Some participants’ mouse clicks not reported, resulting in inconclusive data

14. Results
Significant difference in the direction participants chose to travel?
Performed a paired t-test
95% confidence interval
P-value=0.0000
Significant difference
Significant difference in time taken based on signage presented?
Performed a one-way ANOVA
P-value=0.343
Not a significant difference

15. Results
Relationship between where they looked and chosen direction?

16. Results
Difference between the number of males and females choosing to go toward the light/predicted path?
Performed a paired t-test
95% confidence interval
P-value=0.000
Significant difference
Difference between the amount of time taken to make a decision based on gender?
P-value=0.006

17. Results Light Left, Exit Right Light Left Light Right, Exit Left
Light Right, Arrow Left

18. Limitations

19. Limitations
Unable to actually let participants navigate through a virtual environment
Tobii studio required us to strictly use screenshots instead of a continuous video stream
Used screenshots of a virtual environment
Participants’ decisions would have been more realistic
Their emotions may have played a greater factor in the decision making process

20. Future Work and Conclusions

21. Future Work Retrospective “Think Aloud”
Videotape participants in action
Accurate time data can still collected
Assists with determining why participants made certain decisions
Further research on gender differences in decision making
Develop a program that supports a gaming environment
Interesting to see how participants react to various obstructions
Impact on time to make a decision?
Will participants still choose to go toward the light?

22. Conclusion Hypothesis: more people will choose the lighted path
We accepted the hypothesis based on experimental results
Signage played a factor in the decision making process
However, lighting was found to be a more significant wayfinding technique

23. References
Antonakaki, T Lighting within the Social Dimension of Space: A Case Study at the Royal Festival Hall, London. In Proceedings of the Space Syntax and Spatial Cognition Workshop, (Sep. 2006)
Biesek Design Definition of Wayfinding.
Darken, R. P., and Sibert, J. L Wayfinding Strategies and Behaviors in Large Virtual Worlds. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Common Ground, ACM
Darken, R. P., and Sibert, J. L Navigating Large Virtual Spaces. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 8,1 (Jan./Feb./Mar. 1996),
Lundeen, R L4D Art Direction Part 2: Stylized Darkness. In Left 4 Dead Blog.
Smith, H. and Worch, M What Happened Here: Environmental Storytelling. In Proceedings of Game Developers Conference 2010.
Taylor, L. H., and Socov, E. W The Movement of People Toward Light. Journal of IES, (Apr. 74),
Vembar, D., Iyengar, N., Duchowski, A., Clark, K., Hewitt, J. and Pauls, K Effect of Visual Cues on Human Performance in Navigating through a Virtual Maze. In Proceedings of Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments 2004.
Yorks, P., and Ginthner, D Wall Lighting Placement: Effect on Behavior in the Work Environment. Lighting Design and Application, 17, 7 (Jul.),

24. Questions???