User’s Gaze Analysis for Improving Map Label Readability in Way-finding Situation

Map labels are the most recognizable map elements using the human visual system because they are essentially a natural language. In this study, an experiment was conducted using an eye-tracker to objectively record and analyze the response of subjects regarding visual attention to map labels. A primary building object was identified by analyzing visit counts, average visit duration, fixation counts, and the average fixation duration of a subject’s gaze for an area of interest acquired using the eye-tracker. The unmarked rate of map labels in Google map, Naver map, and Daum map was calculated. As a result, this rate exceeded fifty-one percent, with the lowest rate recorded for Google map. It is expected that the results of this study will contribute to an increase in the diversity of research in terms of the spatial cognition approach for map labels, which is more helpful to users than the existing body of work on methods of expression for labels.