Virtual environments for the transfer of navigation skills in the blind: a comparison of directed instruction vs. video game based learning approaches

Abstract

For profoundly blind individuals, navigating in an unfamiliar building can represent a significant challenge. We investigated the use of an audio-based, virtual environment called Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES) that can be explored for the purposes of learning the layout of an unfamiliar, complex indoor environment. Furthermore, we compared two modes of interaction with AbES. In one group, blind participants implicitly learned the layout of a target environment while playing an exploratory, goal-directed video game. By comparison, a second group was explicitly taught the same layout following a standard route and instructions provided by a sighted facilitator. As a control, a third group interacted with AbES while playing an exploratory, goal-directed video game however, the explored environment did not correspond to the target layout. Following interaction with AbES, a series of route navigation tasks were carried out in the virtual and physical building represented in the training environment to assess the transfer of acquired spatial information. We found that participants from both modes of interaction were able to transfer the spatial knowledge gained as indexed by their successful route navigation performance. This transfer was not apparent in the control participants. Most notably, the game-based learning strategy was also associated with enhanced performance when participants were required to find alternate routes and short cuts within the target building suggesting that a ludic-based training approach may provide for a more flexible mental representation of the environment. Furthermore, outcome comparisons between early and late blind individuals suggested that greater prior visual experience did not have a significant effect on overall navigation performance following training. Finally, performance did not appear to be associated with other factors of interest such as age, gender, and verbal memory recall. We conclude that the highly interactive and immersive exploration of the virtual environment greatly engages a blind user to develop skills akin to positive near transfer of learning. Learning through a game play strategy appears to confer certain behavioral advantages with respect to how spatial information is acquired and ultimately manipulated for navigation.

Keywords: early blind; games for learning; late blind; navigation; near transfer of learning; spatial cognition; videogames; virtual environment.

Figure 1

Overall study design. Using a stratified randomization strategy, early and late blind participants were relegated to one of three experimental groups; (1) gamers (2) directed navigators, or (3) control. Training included 3, 30-min sessions. Following game play/training, the participants underwent a series of three sequential behavioral task assessments.

Figure 2

Virtual rendering of an existing two story building (for simplicity, only the first floor is shown) represented in the AbES software used. (A) Blind participants (right) interacting with the AbES software while a facilitator (left) looks on. (B) In gamer mode, the user (yellow icon) navigates through the virtual environment using auditory cues to locate hidden jewels (blue squares) and avoid being caught by roving monsters (red icons). In directed navigation mode (C), the user learns the spatial layout of the building and the relative location of the rooms using a series of predetermined paths (shown in yellow) with the assistance of a facilitator (for simplicity, only one path is shown here). (D) For the control group, the user played in a virtual environment that did not correspond to the target building.

Figure 3

Navigation performance—arriving to target. Comparing performance on navigation tasks between gamers and directed navigator learning strategy in early and late blind participants. (A) High success on correct paths taken (%) for virtual room-to-room navigation was observed in both groups. (B) Similar high transfer success on correct paths taken (%) was observed for physical room-to-room navigation. (C) Results of the drop off task reveal an advantage for gamers. Paths chosen were scored such that the shortest route possible to exit the building from a given starting point received a maximum of 3 points, 2 for next closest exit, 1 for the longest, 0 for unsuccessful. Gamers showed an advantage over directed navigators in that they were more likely to choose the shortest path on the drop off task (indicated by higher average point score). The Three-Way ANOVA revealed a significant main effect for condition (see text). Error bars indicate SD, ^***p < 0.001.

Figure 4

Navigation performance—time to target. Average time taken to navigate to target in the virtual navigation task (A) and the physical navigation task (B) was also similar across groups. (C) For the drop off task, gamers were generally faster than directed navigators to reach their target using an alternate route; however the difference was only significant in the late blind group. The Three-Way ANOVA revealed a significant main effect for condition (see text). Error bars indicate SD, ^*p < 0.05.

Figure 5

Correlations between navigation task performance (% correct on physical navigation) and factors of interest (A) age and (B) verbal memory ability. No significant associations were observed (data from gamers and directed navigators collapsed).