Disciplines
Geographic Information Sciences | Other Geography
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Digital maps have become an integral part of people’s daily lives, helping to convey numerous kinds of vital information. As the popularity of digital maps has increased, the ways that they are both created and understood have evolved. This project’s goal is to analyze how people view and interpret digital maps and in turn gain a better understanding of how to create more impactful maps. Digital maps are used differently from physical maps, and therefore require different approaches to their creation.
Eye tracking hardware and software from Pupil Labs was used to record students while viewing a series of maps. This data was processed and projected within ArcGIS Pro to visualize where the users were looking on the map and when. A variety of visualization methods were used to present this data, including heatmaps and gaze position points that were colored differently depending on the timestamp from the recording. By analyzing this information, it is possible to determine what elements of a map viewers focus on the most and what elements may catch their attention quicker than others and what elements do not seem to gain much attention. This gives an overview of what parts of the map hold the most critical information or what parts are the most attractive visually. Analyzing this information allows for a stronger understanding of what a user looks for in a map and how they will view the information presented to them.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Geography & Anthropology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ulrike Ingram
Additional Faculty
Nancy Pullen, npullen@kennesaw.edu
Understanding Map Reading With Eye Motion Tracking
Digital maps have become an integral part of people’s daily lives, helping to convey numerous kinds of vital information. As the popularity of digital maps has increased, the ways that they are both created and understood have evolved. This project’s goal is to analyze how people view and interpret digital maps and in turn gain a better understanding of how to create more impactful maps. Digital maps are used differently from physical maps, and therefore require different approaches to their creation.
Eye tracking hardware and software from Pupil Labs was used to record students while viewing a series of maps. This data was processed and projected within ArcGIS Pro to visualize where the users were looking on the map and when. A variety of visualization methods were used to present this data, including heatmaps and gaze position points that were colored differently depending on the timestamp from the recording. By analyzing this information, it is possible to determine what elements of a map viewers focus on the most and what elements may catch their attention quicker than others and what elements do not seem to gain much attention. This gives an overview of what parts of the map hold the most critical information or what parts are the most attractive visually. Analyzing this information allows for a stronger understanding of what a user looks for in a map and how they will view the information presented to them.