The effect of level of detail and navigability on spatial size perception

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Previous research has demonstrated that the amount of visual cues available to an observer affects the observer's perception of the size of space. Additionally, ongoing research in the field of human perception has revealed that the effect of an observer's movement also influences the observer's perception of space. However, little research has been conducted to study the effect of mentioned variables together on how we perceive the properties of space, mainly its size. In this study, the impact of level of detail and navigability on spatial size perception was empirically examined in a factorial experiment. Data were collected to compare two levels of detail (low/high) and two levels of navigability (non-navigable/navigable) to assess their impact on observer's perception of size. The results support the assumptions that the presence of more visual cues and exploration of an architectural space in 3-D will have a positive impact on the perception of space.