Comparison of spatial orientation using topographic map and orthophotomap in a virtual environment representing urban space

Virtual environments are computer-generated immersive spaces that can stimulate both real and imaginary worlds.Their purpose is to immerse the user in a realistic virtual environment (Stanney and Cohn, 2009).A particularly interesting aspect is their effect on spatial orientation, which is defined as the ability to remain oriented in a spatial environment when viewing objects in that environment from different positions (Kozhevnikov and Hegarty, 2001).It is one of the main components of spatial abilities (Carbonell-Carrera & Saorin, 2017).Spatial abilities are involved in everyday activities, such as finding one's way in an environment (Hegarty et al. 2002).People acquire spatial information through direct experience when moving through an environment or looking at a map (Richardson et al., 1999).