Increased display size and resolution improve task performance in Information Rich Virtual Environments
Physically large size high resolution displays have been widely applied in various fields. There is a lack of research, however, that demonstrates empirically how users benefit from the increased size and resolution afforded by emerging technologies. We designed a controlled experiment to evaluate the individual and combined effects of display size and resolution on task performance in an Information Rich Virtual Environment (IRVE) We also explored how a wayfinding aid would facilitate spatial information acquisition and mental map construction when users worked with various displays. We found that users were most effective at performing IRVE search and comparison tasks on large high resolution displays. In addition, users working with large displays became less reliant on wayfinding aids to form spatial knowledge. We discuss the impact of these results on the design and presentation of IRVEs, the choice of displays for particular applications, and future work to extend our findings.
Graphics Interface