Cognitive Compass
Enhancing Spatial Cognition via AR Campus Exploration
Personal Project
Challenge Behind Campus Navigation
A Vast Campus Challenges Freshmen’s Spatial Cognition, While GPS Navigation Hinders Spatial Learning
At Zhejiang University’s Zijingang Campus, where I study, the 3.6 km² campus, about a 30-minute walk from the North Gate to the South Gate, often causes disorientation. Although the university offers campus tours and orientation activities, these are limited, covering only a few iconic spots such as the museum and library. As a result, freshmen largely rely on navigation apps.
Research shows that habitual GPS use weakens spatial memory and attention to environmental cues (Dahmani & Bohbot, 2020), suggesting that traditional digital navigation may hinder the development of internal spatial cognition, essential for understanding complex environments. Consequently, it takes new students a long time to navigate the campus efficiently.
Reference:
Dahmani, L., & Bohbot, V. D. (2020). Habitual use of GPS negatively impacts spatial memory during self-guided navigation. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 6310.
Zijingang Campus Overview (≈3.6 km²)
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Traditional digital navigation helps us find our way more easily, but prevents us from truly knowing where we are.
Research & Ideation
How Might We Help Freshmen to Effectively Develop Spatial Memory and Cognition of a Campus?
A recent systematic review of AR wayfinding (Qiu et al., 2025) analyzed 88 studies and found that approximately 85% reported AR supports cognitive map formation across various devices, including mobile AR.
Kevin Lynch’s five city image elements—path, edge, district, node, and landmark—provide a framework to organize an area in a city into an easily graspable mental map (Lynch, 1960).
Building on these insights, this project leverages AR to translate Lynch’s framework into an immersive and engaging campus exploration experience for freshmen.
References:
Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. MIT Press.
Qiu, Z., Mostafavi, A. & Kalantari, S. Use of augmented reality in human wayfinding: a systematic review. Virtual Reality 29, 154 (2025).
Urban Image: Los Angeles (Lynch, 1960)
Visual Exploration
How Might AR Make the Five Image Elements More Perceptually Distinct?
To ground the design in a real-life context and keep the workload manageable, I selected one of the most representative areas of the campus and identified the five key elements using the cognitive map method.
Draw My Cognitive Map of the Campus
Select a Representative Area, Route, and Five Elements as Examples
Using the five key elements as examples, I brainstormed and prototyped various AR encoding solutions, which fall into two categories: airborne and ground-based. The hypothesis is that airborne effects, being more dramatic, are likely to make a stronger impression, while ground-based effects are more anchored, fostering stronger associations with the corresponding real-world elements.
Visualize with Examples
Real-World Scene
Airborne Effects
dramatic
Ground-based Effects
anchored
① Node - Convergence Point
Star
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Whirlpool
② Landmark - Radiating Reference
Halo
Ripple
③ Path - Directional Route
Arrow
Stream
④ District - Volumetric Area
Cake
Mushroom
⑤ Edge - Linear Boundary
Wall
Snake
Evaluation Method
Recruiting Participants Unfamiliar With the Campus to Test the AR Prototype and Assess Their Spatial Memory and Understanding
A first-person video captured both the smartphone screen and surroundings along the designated route. Frames were extracted every 8 seconds, AR effects overlaid in Figma, and sequences recombined to produce the prototype video. Nine online participants, divided into three groups (Airborne, Ground-based, No-effect), watched their video twice, mapped scenes via drawings or text, and completed brief interviews to clarify spatial memory and element understanding.
Capture a First-person Video
Extract Frames Every 8 Seconds
Cognitive Maps and Interview Quotes from 9 Participants
Evaluation Findings
Effective Visualization Requires Flexible Combination of AR Effect Types and Strategic Pairing of Elements for Stronger Spatial Clarity
Airborne Effects
dramatic
Ground-based Effects
anchored
When asked about their understanding of the node encoding, most participants reported not fully grasping it. However, all participants accurately drew the building and path associated with the node and interpreted the converging paths as representing the node.
① Node
Takeaway:
To avoid confusion caused by double encoding, the additional encoding of nodes should be removed, as the intersections of the path elements already convey the intended meaning.
When asked about their understanding of the landmark encoding, 1 participant reported not fully grasping the ground-based ripple cues.
② Landmark
Takeaway:
The airborne halo effect is more intuitive and reduces perceptual confusion compared with ground-based ripple cues.
The drawn paths from the ground-based effect group showed better continuity; however, all 3 participants in the group made significant errors in perceiving the overall direction of the route network.
③ Path
Takeaway:
Ground-based stream effects convey path continuity, while airborne arrows should be added at turns to aid reorientation.
When asked about their understanding of the district encoding, 2 participants reported not noticing the ground-based mushroom cues.
④ District
Takeaway:
Airborne cake effects effectively highlight districts, while ground-based mushroom cues are often overlooked and fail to convey clear area boundaries.
When asked about their understanding of the edge encoding, most participants reported not fully grasping it. However, 4 participants accurately identified the boundary between the district and the lawn as representing the edge.
⑤ Edge
Takeaway:
To avoid confusion caused by double encoding, the additional encoding of edges should be removed, as a district’s legibility depends on the clarity of its boundaries.
Implementation Demo
Demonstrating Through Re-composed Image Elements
Turn up the volume for a better experience