Designing Mixed Reality-Based Indoor Navigation for User Studies

Mixed reality (MR) is increasingly applied in indoor navigation. With the development of MR devices and indoor navigation algorithms, special attention has been paid to related cognitive issues and many user studies are being conducted. This paper gives an overview of MR technology, devices, and the design of MR-based indoor navigation systems for user studies. We propose a theoretical framework consisting of spatial mapping, spatial localization, path generation, and instruction visualization. We summarize some critical factors to be considered in the design process. Four approaches to constructing an MR-based indoor navigation system under different conditions are introduced and compared. Our gained insight can be used to help researchers select an optimal design approach of MR-based indoor navigation for their user studies.