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Investigating Indoor Navigational Experiences with a Mobile Augmented Reality Prototype versus the Conventional Method

Navigation is a coordinated process of movement and wayfinding. This concept is commonly tied to outdoor navigational tasks like finding a place or indoor navigational chores such as locating a product within a store. Focusing on the challenges of indoor navigation, revealed that shoppers sometimes encounter difficulty locating items or become disoriented, which may lead to frustration. This study proposed a conceptual model for alleviating challenges with indoor navigation. The model was prototyped as two main components - navigation and recognition, working in conjunction with each other. The navigation component applied the A* search algorithm and was simulated using the paper prototyping methodology. On the other hand, the recognition component was developed as a mobile Augmented Reality (AR) application. Within the context of a supermarket, the prototype was compared against the conventional shopping method to determine efficiency. Furthermore, the prototype was assessed for usability, user reactions and experiences, strengths and weaknesses. Key findings revealed that most shoppers enjoyed interacting with the prototype, due to its novel design and efficiency in finding items. This was an indication that AR is indeed a useful advancement in the area of indoor navigation.