The influence of memory on indoor environment exploration: A numerical study

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Urban Planning & Safety

Background:

• Understanding human exploration and navigation is crucial for designing safe evacuation routes and emergency spaces.
• The role of memory in human navigation behavior remains a key area for investigation.
• Current experimental methods may limit the scope and efficiency of data collection in human behavior studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel serious game-based experimental approach for studying human exploration and navigation.
• To quantify the impact of memory on the efficiency and non-randomness of human exploration.
• To compare the data collection efficiency of game-based methodologies against traditional experimental approaches.

Main Methods:

• Development of a serious game designed to simulate exploration and navigation tasks.
• Implementation of a memory model with varying depths (6-8 steps) to analyze its effect on exploration.
• Comparative analysis of data collected via the game-based approach versus traditional methods.

Main Results:

• A memory model with a depth of 6-8 steps effectively approximates human-like exploration efficiency.
• The serious game-based methodology significantly increases the volume of data collectible compared to traditional experiments.
• Non-random patterns in human exploration behavior were identified and linked to memory depth.

Conclusions:

• Memory plays a critical role in efficient human exploration and navigation.
• Serious game-based experiments offer a powerful and efficient tool for studying complex human behaviors.
• Findings support the integration of cognitive principles into 'safety-by-design' strategies for infrastructure.