Orientation Aids for Mobile Maps

Using mobile maps to represent urban, work, or entertainment environments offers new possibilities to plan and carry out tasks. One potentially critical problem in mobile map usage is the misalignment between the user's frame of reference and the frame of reference of the map. In the experiment reported here, three different ‘orientation aids’ were tested in the context of restricted space, such as a large factory hall. The aim of the study was to find out how user interface design can help the user mentally align misaligned frames of reference for efficient mobile map use. The results of the experiment (N = 12) suggest using a ‘you are here’ marker and landmark highlighting, while canonical direction symbols proved to be less plausible. Further, a maximum number of seven targets on the map is suggested.