Facilitating route memory with auditory route guidance systems

Auditory route guidance systems (RGSs), relative to electronic maps, facilitate wayfinding and reduce mental workload while having the important safety advantage of allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the road. This interface characteristic is particularly important for novice and older drivers. However, existing auditory RGS instructions may fail to facilitate rapid development of route memory and other forms of spatial knowledge. We sought to determine whether adding salient spatial cues to standard auditory RGS instructions could facilitate route memory. Participants were instructed to learn specific routes while driving a simulated vehicle using one of three auditory RGS formats: standard RGS (SRGS), landmark plus standard RGS (LRGS), or cardinal heading plus standard (CRGS). Participants required significantly fewer trials to learn novel routes and reported lower overall workload when using the LRGS format relative to the SRGS. Further, the LRGS resulted in significantly fewer navigational errors during memory trials relative to both the CRGS and the SRGS. Based on measures of driving performance and workload ratings, supplementing the standard RGS with landmark or cardinal heading information did not appear to excessively increase instruction complexity. Actual or potential applications of this research include designing improved auditory RGS interfaces that facilitate both wayfinding and route memory.