# Exploring Visual Perceptions of Spatial Information for Wayfinding in Virtual Reality Environments
## 4 Results  
### Average Gaze Data for Understanding Spatial Information  
Time-series analysis was performed to analyze the experimental data through the recognition of spatial information. To analyze the visual information process, the time was divided into six sequences of ten-second intervals. To extract the gaze information for the AOI set (\"path\", \"sign\",  
Figure 3: Areas of interest (AOIs) positioned in visual stimuli. **(a)** By setting the regions of interest in visual stimuli, the participants’ gaze data that were created while searching for directions according to spatial information in the experiment were extracted. In the visual stimulus, the area excluding “sign” and “path” was set as the background. **(b)** A visual stimulus shown when a participant wore an HMD and explored the VR environment. and \"background\") of visual stimuli, the number of gaze fixation data retrieved from each section was identified along with the AOIs that participants observed and the information they acquired over time. In the interview conducted at the final stage of the experiment, participants answered questions about the clarity and the recognition of the crossroads selection process using a five-point scale (\"very difficult\", \"difficult\", \"normal\", \"easy\", and \"very easy\"). According to their answers, they were divided into two groups. Participants who selected \"very difficult\", \"difficult\", or \"normal\" were grouped as \"difficult\", and those who chose \"easy\" or \"very easy\" were classified as \"easy\". Dividing the group according to the level of spatial information recognition allowed the researchers to analyze the correlation between each group's changing characteristics in the cognitive understanding of spatial information and the movement of gaze information according to time-series analysis. To analyze the spatial information, the movement of the gaze was studied over time to ascertain the average fixation number (see Figure 4) and the ratio of each AOI (see Figure 5). The data for the gaze increased and decreased over time in relation to the two groups (\"easy\" and \"difficult\"), which were divided according to their propensity for spatial understanding. Overall, using the averages and ratios extracted from the AOIs, the movement by which the gaze increases and decreases over time could be analyzed by applying the correlation between the understanding of space and the cognitive process. Figure 4 shows the gaze fixation data in the AOIs for the two groups according to the scale of their understandings within the space. We abbreviated the \"easy\" group's fixation AOI sign as E-FAS,  
Figure 4: The average fixation periods for the AOIs according to the two groups. (**a**) Average fixation of AOI paths in the “easy” group (E-FAP) and the “difficult” group (D-FAP); average fixation gradually decreased along the “easy” group’s “path” but increased for the “difficult” group. (**b**) The average number of fixed appearances of the “sign” over time in E-FAS and D-FAS; the average fixation decreased similarly for E-FAS and D-FAS. Figure 5: The extraction of the proportions of each AOI (path, sign, and background) from the entire area according to two groups. (**a**) The “easy” group’s gaze fixation on the AOI path (E-FAP), sign (E-FAS), and background (E-FAB) according to the time interval. (**b**) The “difficult” group’s gaze fixation on the AOI path (D-FAP), sign (D-FAS), and background (D-FAB) according to the time interval. the \"difficult\" group's fixation AOI sign as D-FAS, the \"easy\" group's fixation AOI path as E-FAP, and the \"difficult\" group's fixation AOI path as D-FAP. After the start of the experiment, the gaze fixation of AOI for the \"path\" of the D-FAP group was 3.5 times higher than that of the E-FAS group in the experimental Time Sequence 1 (ten seconds). From the beginning of the gaze, the ratio of the D-FAP gaze gradually decreased throughout the entire experimental period, but the E-FAP gradually increased (see Figure 4a).