Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a Classroom
The comprehension of the fire evacuation process is crucial for developing effective evacuation management strategies to enhance pedestrian safety. In this study, we construct a classroom with internal obstacles forming intersecting pathways in Minecraft, and conduct a series of virtual evacuation e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-11-01
|
| Series: | Fire |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/11/422 |
| _version_ | 1797459332852350976 |
|---|---|
| author | Zhichao Zhang Wenke Zhang Yueyao Ma Eric Wai Ming Lee Meng Shi |
| author_facet | Zhichao Zhang Wenke Zhang Yueyao Ma Eric Wai Ming Lee Meng Shi |
| author_sort | Zhichao Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The comprehension of the fire evacuation process is crucial for developing effective evacuation management strategies to enhance pedestrian safety. In this study, we construct a classroom with internal obstacles forming intersecting pathways in Minecraft, and conduct a series of virtual evacuation experiments involving multiple pedestrians to investigate the pedestrian behaviors. Case studies in a single-exit classroom demonstrated that normal obstacles and fire in the main evacuation path prompt pedestrians to detour, and pedestrians exhibit fire-avoidance behavior in advance during fire emergency. In the two-exit classroom experiments, normal obstacles have a limited effect on the exit choices of pedestrians, as they primarily choose the nearest exit. Pedestrians positioned in the center of classroom are influenced by their initial orientations, and some pedestrians opt for exits in their initial facing directions. The presence of fire has a greater influence on pedestrians’ exit choices, with most opting for exits away from the fire. Furthermore, during fire emergencies, some pedestrians engage in risk-taking behavior by choosing higher-risk paths in pursuit of a faster evacuation. These adventurous pedestrians proactively plan routes that maximize their distance from the fire and exhibit orderly queuing behavior. These findings are helpful to reveal pedestrian behaviors during fire emergencies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:50:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b197f1b5b5d45739eee4c95bdf42aa6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:50:56Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b197f1b5b5d45739eee4c95bdf42aa62023-11-24T14:41:33ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552023-11-0161142210.3390/fire6110422Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a ClassroomZhichao Zhang0Wenke Zhang1Yueyao Ma2Eric Wai Ming Lee3Meng Shi4School of Computer Science, South-Central Minzu University, 182 Minyuan Road, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430074, ChinaSchool of Computer Science, South-Central Minzu University, 182 Minyuan Road, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430074, ChinaSchool of Computer Science, South-Central Minzu University, 182 Minyuan Road, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430074, ChinaDepartment of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon 852, Hong KongSchool of Computer Science, South-Central Minzu University, 182 Minyuan Road, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430074, ChinaThe comprehension of the fire evacuation process is crucial for developing effective evacuation management strategies to enhance pedestrian safety. In this study, we construct a classroom with internal obstacles forming intersecting pathways in Minecraft, and conduct a series of virtual evacuation experiments involving multiple pedestrians to investigate the pedestrian behaviors. Case studies in a single-exit classroom demonstrated that normal obstacles and fire in the main evacuation path prompt pedestrians to detour, and pedestrians exhibit fire-avoidance behavior in advance during fire emergency. In the two-exit classroom experiments, normal obstacles have a limited effect on the exit choices of pedestrians, as they primarily choose the nearest exit. Pedestrians positioned in the center of classroom are influenced by their initial orientations, and some pedestrians opt for exits in their initial facing directions. The presence of fire has a greater influence on pedestrians’ exit choices, with most opting for exits away from the fire. Furthermore, during fire emergencies, some pedestrians engage in risk-taking behavior by choosing higher-risk paths in pursuit of a faster evacuation. These adventurous pedestrians proactively plan routes that maximize their distance from the fire and exhibit orderly queuing behavior. These findings are helpful to reveal pedestrian behaviors during fire emergencies.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/11/422evacuation dynamicsfire emergencyvirtual environmentMinecraftexperimental studychoice behavior |
| spellingShingle | Zhichao Zhang Wenke Zhang Yueyao Ma Eric Wai Ming Lee Meng Shi Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a Classroom Fire evacuation dynamics fire emergency virtual environment Minecraft experimental study choice behavior |
| title | Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a Classroom |
| title_full | Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a Classroom |
| title_fullStr | Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a Classroom |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a Classroom |
| title_short | Experimental Study on Pedestrian Behaviors during Fire Emergency Conditions with Minecraft: Case Studies in a Classroom |
| title_sort | experimental study on pedestrian behaviors during fire emergency conditions with minecraft case studies in a classroom |
| topic | evacuation dynamics fire emergency virtual environment Minecraft experimental study choice behavior |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/11/422 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zhichaozhang experimentalstudyonpedestrianbehaviorsduringfireemergencyconditionswithminecraftcasestudiesinaclassroom AT wenkezhang experimentalstudyonpedestrianbehaviorsduringfireemergencyconditionswithminecraftcasestudiesinaclassroom AT yueyaoma experimentalstudyonpedestrianbehaviorsduringfireemergencyconditionswithminecraftcasestudiesinaclassroom AT ericwaiminglee experimentalstudyonpedestrianbehaviorsduringfireemergencyconditionswithminecraftcasestudiesinaclassroom AT mengshi experimentalstudyonpedestrianbehaviorsduringfireemergencyconditionswithminecraftcasestudiesinaclassroom |