Influence of Avatar Locomotion Model on Virtual Wayfinding Outcomes in Airport Terminal Experiments

Abstract:

To enhance the accuracy of virtual wayfinding experiments widely used in the study of wayfinding efficiency in airport terminals， this paper conducted a virtual controlled experiment involving 13 712 participants divided into five groups to investigate the influence of stochastic-trajectory-driven mechanism， true-trajectory-driven mechanism， and their combined application on the experimental outcomes. The findings reveal that， significant differences in decision-making time between the no-avatar environment and those entirely driven by the true-trajectory-driven mechanism， while no significant differences were observed when compared to the fully stochastic-trajectory-driven mechanism. Moreover， as the proportion of the stochastic-trajectory-driven mechanism in both driving mechanisms increased， these differences gradually diminished. Additionally， in terms of the success rate of wayfinding tasks and detour rates， there were no significant differences between the two mechanisms and their different combinations compared to the no-avatar environment. Therefore， the driving mechanisms can influence the accuracy of virtual experiments related to decision time.

Key words:wayfinding;virtual experiments;airports;crowd;controlled experiment