An Augmented Reality Study for Enhancing Spatial-Temporal Cognition in Indoor Emergency Response

Fast, accurate spatial-temporal cognition is vital for situational awareness and mission success in indoor emergencies. Complex layouts and occlusions hinder first responders' ability to judge distances, scales, and task completion times. This paper explores the enhancement of these cognitive abilities through the application of Augmented Reality (AR) devices. Utilizing mixed reality and reality capturing technologies, a digital twin model of a three-level indoor structure was built based on LiDAR scans of Turlington Hall at the University of Florida. A mixed reality environment was then constructed using the Unity engine and Microsoft HoloLens2. In a user study (N=30), we systematically compared three visualization conditions (2D Map, 3D Map, and Egocentric Map) across spatial and temporal estimation tasks. Non-parametric statistical analysis with correction for multiple comparisons revealed a task-dependent pattern. The Egocentric Map showed the lowest error for ETA estimation (MAPE = 17.2% vs. 23.3% for 2D maps), suggesting a trend toward improved temporal cognition, though this pairwise difference did not reach statistical significance after correction. Conversely, for distance-between-objects tasks, 2D and 3D maps yielded significantly lower error than Egocentric views (MAPE = 24.3% and 17.7% vs. 36.8%, padj < 0.01). These findings reveal a task-dependent trade-off, indicating that no single visualization mode is universally optimal: AR overlays may support action-oriented temporal planning, while exocentric views remain superior for precise metric spatial judgments in emergency response.