139 - A New Physical Approach to the Study of Human Spatial Navigation

Poster Board Number: 139
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Odd poster #s – first hour
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Abstract Body : Spatial navigation is a very complex process that result of the interaction of several distinct sub-processes. The study of these sub-processes has been mostly addressed from a static approach, where subjects are presented with navigation tasks either on a computer screen or on a virtual reality device. Tests that require subjects to move tend to be constricted in size and complexity by space limitations. We propose a new device and protocol to dissect spatial navigation into several of its components, to study them individually using both virtual and real-life version of the same tasks. This setup allows us to tune the difficulty of each test separately while maintaining the 3x3-meter physical space required, without limitation of difficulty; tests can be as challenging or as simple as the experiment requires, allowing for subjects with cognitive impairment, children, old people, etc. The device is also portable, modular, inexpensive and requires no programming experience to control.