A novel approach to improved navigation performance through memory triggering maps

As people become more mobile, navigation systems in cars or mobile phones are playing an increasingly important role in spatial orientation and navigation.

However, the ""cognitive map"" created in the user's mind when using such navigation devices is much more fragmented, incomplete and inaccurate, compared to the mental model of space created when reading a conventional printed map.

As users become more dependent on digital devices that reduce orientation skills, there is an urgent need to develop more efficient navigation systems that promote orientation skills.

In order to improve the performance of navigation systems, the proposed project aims to develop the theoretical framework for map-based interfaces that primarily take internal brain capacities into account instead of the usual landmark recognition.

To meet this challenge, I suggest a new cartographic concept based on recent neuroscientific findings that link spatially tuned brain cells to navigation processes. Namely, the firing activities of grid cells can be influenced by environmental cues such as walls or boundaries. Based on this mechanism, I hypothesise that grid cell activities in the brain can be stabilised through map elements.

Linking map-based navigation with neural mechanisms that play a crucial role in human orientation could thus significantly accelerate the construction of spatial mental representations.

This research will develop a new approach to improving navigation performance by conducting a series of empirical studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalographic (EEG) measurements, virtual reality (VR) and behavioural studies (eye tracking). If successful, the proposed research could transform our understanding of navigation and map reading processes.

The impact on human orientation ability can be enormous, as the project results could be applicable to the whole spectrum of cartographic visualisations e.g. in cars, airplanes or mobile devices.