Contributions to the Development of VE-Assisted Training of Spatial Behavior

Abstract

An initial three-part effort aimed at integrating spatial cognition research with virtual environment technology resulted in: (a) a conceptual framework for classifying spatial abilities into three 'families' (object identification. wayfinding & orientation, and target acquisition/avoidance); (b) results from an experimental study showing that global and local-object frames of reference are optimal for communicating direction of movement in fixed-observer situation; and (c) results from an experimental study showing that distance estimation skill could be trained using visual feedback and transferred to novel settings. Follow-up work focused on training estimation of distance and direction. A series of experimental studies showed that skill in estimating perceived and traversed distance can be trained using digital photographs and that this skill is transferable to novel settings. These findings support the use of VE-based techniques for training fundamental spatial skills relevant to military applications.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA396850

Entities

People

  • Gary L. Allen

Organizations

  • University of South Carolina Aiken Department of Psychology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Acquisition
  • Artillery
  • Cognition
  • Environment
  • Feedback
  • Field Conditions
  • Human Behavior
  • Human-Machine Interaction
  • Laptop Computers
  • Military Applications
  • Observers
  • Orientation (Direction)
  • Photographs
  • Psychology
  • Training
  • Virtual Reality

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Computer Vision.
  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.