Navigating in natural environments: a virtual environment training transfer study

The ability to use virtual environments as either an abstraction of a space, similar to a map, or as a simulation of the space itself has suggested to many that it would be a useful tool in terrain familiarization of unknown environments. Up to this point, all research in this area has focused on building interiors and urban environments which are significantly different from natural environments in terms of navigation cues and useful wayfinding techniques. The experiment we present uses a virtual environment, as compared to a map only or real-world conditions on navigation tasks in a natural environment. We show that navigation ability is more important to performance than the training method, with the virtual environment being most effective for intermediate orienteers as compared to advanced or beginner orienteers.