Performance of dismounted soldiers during waypoint navigation in darkness using GNSS-supported digital map or paper map

Navigating in unknown terrain on foot in darkness is in many aspects challenging. This can be facilitated by support of GNSS positioning, digital maps and night vision devices. To investigate the advantages of technical support and its use in darkness, an experimental study was performed. In this study, dismounted soldiers equipped with a night vision device navigated in darkness with either a GPS device (with digital map) or a paper map and compass. The results showed that the distance traversed was shorter and that the soldiers needed significantly less time to navigate when supported by the GPS device compared to using a paper map and compass. The main reason for this difference was that the proportion of time in motion was significantly larger when the GPS device was used. Also, subjective ratings showed significantly higher preference for the GPS device than for the paper map and compass.