Comparing physical, automatic and manual map rotation for pedestrian navigation

It is well-established finding that people find maps easier to use when they are aligned so that "up" on the map corresponds to the user's forward direction. With mapbased applications on handheld mobile devices, this forward/up correspondence can be maintained in several ways: the device can be physically rotated within the user's hands or the user can manually operate buttons to digitally rotate the map; alternatively, the map can be rotated automatically using data from an electronic compass. This paper examines all three options. In a field experiment, each method is compared against a baseline north-up condition. The study provides strong evidence that physical rotation is the most effective with applications that present the user with a wider map. The paper concludes with some suggestions for design improvements. Author Keywords Egocentric maps, mobile computing, automatic rotation ACM Classification Keywords H.5.2 Information interfaces and presentation (e.g...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Will Seager, Danae Stanton Fraser
• Keywords: Automatic Rotation Acm, CHI 2007, Human Computer Interaction, Keywords Egocentric Maps, Map Corresponds