Virtual environmental boundaries reduce cognitive workload for reorientation during turn-by-turn navigation

Current GPS navigation tools primarily help users reach their destinations through turn-by-turn instructions but offer limited support for reorientation, the ability to maintain a sense of direction and self-positioning. Because reorientation during turn-by-turn navigation demands a high cognitive workload, users prioritizing efficiency and safety tend to focus on following instructions rather than encoding their spatial bearings. To address this issue, we proposed visualizing virtual environmental boundaries, such as Augmented Reality (AR) City Walls in the background of the field of view, to serve as a global geometric reference surrounding the navigation area for intuitive direction and distance evaluation during turn-by-turn navigation. Using mobile electroencephalography (EEG), we assessed the cognitive workload of 35 participants as they navigated with virtual reality (VR) headsets. The results indicate that, compared to conventional turn-by-turn navigation using route indications only, displaying environmental boundaries enhances reorientation accuracy while reducing cognitive workload. These findings suggest a potential opportunity for GPS navigation to both the efficiency of reaching a destination and the effectiveness of spatial knowledge acquisition.