Evaluating the Impact of Spatial Ability in Virtual and Real World Environments

Survey agencies in the United States continue to move many map-based surveys from paper to handheld computers. With large highly diverse workforces, it is necessary to test software with a diverse population. The present work examines the performance of participants grouped by their level of spatial visualization. The participants were tested in either the field or in a fully immersive virtual environment. The methodology of the study is explained. The performance of the participants in the two environments is modeled with least squares regression. Results of the study are presented and discussed. Keywordsmap-based survey; virtual reality; spatial ability