Collaborative Research: Decision Processes in Human Navigation

合作研究：人类导航的决策过程

• 批准号: 2217889
• 负责人: Timothy McNamara
• 金额: $ 34.87万
• 依托单位: Vanderbilt University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-15 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2217889&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Decision; Processes; Human

Navigating successfully from one place to another can require difficult decisions. We often need to consider the costs and the benefits of possible routes. For example, the best walking path between downtown buildings may be a short outdoor path when the weather is pleasant or a longer path through indoor passageways during overly hot or cold months. We also use our knowledge to make decisions about where to search for something that we need. Experienced drivers know, for example, that a strip mall is a better place to find a gas station than is a residential neighborhood. We also may need to decide whether we know an environment well enough to rely on our memories and sense of direction or should use the mapping app on our cell phones. To make good choices and to keep from getting lost, we need to rely on several sources of information. One important source is what we see, such as roads, trails, and familiar places. Another important source is from our bodies: As we walk and turn, even with our eyes closed, we have a sense of how far we have traveled and which directions we are facing. These sources of information tell us where we are, where we are headed, and how hard it will be to get there (e.g., climbing a steep hill vs. walking around it). This research investigates how people make these sorts of decisions, deal with conflicting sources of information (e.g., our sense of direction indicates that we should turn left but a familiar landmark indicates that we should turn right), and use navigation aids (e.g., an overhead map of the environment). The investigators will use mathematical models of people’s choices and actions to understand how the human brain stores and uses spatial knowledge for navigation. The results can inform the use of technology, ranging from movement interfaces for video games to GPS-enabled maps. The investigators explore the ways in which navigational decisions and actions are affected by (a) spatial cues about the navigator’s location and the goal location (e.g., landmarks in the environment, body-based cues from walking and turning), (b) costs associated with possible choices (e.g., effort, time), and (c) individual characteristics of the navigator (e.g., spatial ability, risk tolerance). Experiments use immersive virtual reality to maintain tight control over the visual scene while allowing for full physical movement during navigation; this technology allows navigators to walk and turn in virtual environments just as they do in the real world. The experiments examine 1) how navigators use information from multiple spatial cues to find a goal when those cues are inconsistent with one another; 2) how navigators account for navigational costs, as when choosing between a short path through deep sand or a longer path on firm ground; 3) how navigators use prior knowledge to make navigational decisions, as when selecting the most likely place to search for a restaurant within an unfamiliar city, knowing that a restaurant is more likely to be located in a business district than a residential neighborhood; and 4) how navigators combine spatial information from technology, such as that provided by a GPS-enabled map, with natural cues provided by vision and bodily movement. Computational models of the cognitive processes involved in human navigation will be used to expand explanatory theories of human decisions and actions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

从一个地方成功导航可能需要艰难的决定。我们通常需要考虑可能的途径的成本和收益。例如，当天气宜人或在过度寒冷的月份中，市区建筑物之间的最佳步行路线可能是室外通道的短路。我们还利用我们的知识来决定在哪里寻找所需的东西。例如，经验丰富的司机知道，与住宅区相比，脱衣舞购物中心是找到加油站的更好地方。我们还可能需要确定我们是否足够了解环境，以依靠我们的记忆和方向感，或者应该在手机上使用映射应用程序。为了做出良好的选择并避免迷路，我们需要依靠几种信息来源。一个重要的来源是我们看到的，例如道路，步道和熟悉的地方。另一个重要的来源是从我们的身体中：当我们走路和转身时，即使眼睛闭上了眼睛，我们也会感觉自己走了多远以及我们面对哪些方向。这些信息来源告诉我们我们在哪里，前进的位置以及到达那里有多困难（例如，爬上陡峭的山丘与周围的山坡）。这项研究调查了人们如何做出这些决定，处理相互矛盾的信息来源（例如，我们的方向意识表明我们应该向左转，但熟悉的地标表示我们应该右转），并使用导航辅助工具（例如，环境的高架图）。研究人员将使用人们选择和行动的数学模型来了解人类脑存储和使用空间知识进行导航。结果可以告知技术的使用，从视频游戏的移动接口到支持GPS的地图。调查人员探讨了导航决策和行动受（a）关于航行决策和行动的空间提示影响的方式，受（a）关于航行位置和目标位置的空间提示（例如，环境中的地标（例如，步行和转弯）与可能的选择相关（b）机构（例如，nav，时间，时间），（例如，（例如，时间），c。 （例如，空间能力，风险公差）。实验使用沉浸式虚拟现实来维持对视觉场景的严格控制，同时允许在导航期间进行完全的身体运动；这项技术使导航器可以像在现实世界中一样在虚拟环境中行走和转动。检查的实验1）导航员如何使用来自多个空间提示的信息来找到一个目标时，当这些提示相互不一致时； 2）导航员如何考虑导航成本，就像在短道路之间选择一条短道路或牢固的较长道路时； 3）导航员如何使用先验知识做出导航决策，就像选择最有可能在不熟悉的城市中寻找餐厅的地方时，知道餐厅比住宅区更有可能位于商业区； 4）导航器如何结合技术中的空间信息，例如由GPS地图提供的空间信息以及视觉和身体运动提供的自然线索。人类导航所涉及的认知过程的计算模型将用于扩大人类决策和行动的利用理论。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，通过评估被认为是宝贵的支持。