Effects of Spatial Perspective and Frame of Reference Integration on Gaze Behavior and Spatial Learning

As spatial computing offers expanded design spaces and brings digital information seamlessly into a physical environment, it redefines how we perceive space and navigate our surroundings. This study investigates enhancing human navigation and spatial knowledge acquisition in large space environments, focusing on the integration of spatial visual cue display in 3D design space. Three cues were designed (world-fixed cue, body-fixed world-in-miniature map, and a combination of both) and their impact on spatial learning, eye movements, cognitive load, and user experience was assessed. The findings reveal that displaying cues across frames of reference (combining the world- and body-fixed cues) significantly enhances spatial information processing and learning without the cost of cognitive load. The study also sheds light on how individuals' eye movement patterns differ with interface design and while learning, which advances our understanding of the relationship between gaze behavior and spatial learning outcomes and informs cognition-aware adaptive 3D interface design. The anonymized data generated in this study are openly available on the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/mzcqs/.