An Experimental Test Proposal to Study Human Behaviour in Fires Using Virtual Environments
Human behavior in an emergency situation is the starting point for all evacuation planning projects. A better understanding of the decisions made by the occupants during an emergency can help to develop calculation tools that can create more efficient forms of visual and audio communication and impl...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/12/3607 |
| _version_ | 1797564100990992384 |
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| author | Carlos de Lama Cristina González-Gaya Alberto Sánchez-Lite |
| author_facet | Carlos de Lama Cristina González-Gaya Alberto Sánchez-Lite |
| author_sort | Carlos de Lama |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human behavior in an emergency situation is the starting point for all evacuation planning projects. A better understanding of the decisions made by the occupants during an emergency can help to develop calculation tools that can create more efficient forms of visual and audio communication and implement better procedures for evacuating people. The difficulty in studying human behavior lies in the very nature of emergencies, as they are unpredictable, somewhat exceptional and not reproducible. Fire drills play a role in training emergency teams and building occupants, but they cannot be used to collect real data on people’s behavior unless the drill is so realistic that it could endanger the occupants’ safety. In the procedure described here, through the use of a Virtual Reality device that encompasses all critical phases, including user characterization data before the virtual experience, building design parameters and fire scenario, key variables of human behavior can be recorded in order to evaluate each user’s experience satisfactorily. This research shows that the average delay in starting an evacuation is greater than one minute, that anxiety levels and heart rates increase during a fire and that people do not pay attention to evacuation signals. Further analysis of the quantitative data may also provide the causes for decision-making. The use of devices that create realistic virtual environments is a solution for conducting “what if” tests to study and record the decisions taken by the users who undergo the experience in a way that is completely safe for them. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:52:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd7ce13e7bb94132959d6a47939c3634 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:52:39Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd7ce13e7bb94132959d6a47939c36342023-11-20T05:04:01ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202020-06-012012360710.3390/s20123607An Experimental Test Proposal to Study Human Behaviour in Fires Using Virtual EnvironmentsCarlos de Lama0Cristina González-Gaya1Alberto Sánchez-Lite2Department of Construction and Manufacturing Engineering, ETSII, National Distance Education University (UNED), C/Juan del Rosal 12, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Construction and Manufacturing Engineering, ETSII, National Distance Education University (UNED), C/Juan del Rosal 12, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Graphic Expression in Engineering, Cartographic Engineering, Geodesy and Photogrammetry, Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Processes Engineering, School of Industrial Engineering, University of Valladolid, Paseo del Cauce 59, 47011 Valladolid, SpainHuman behavior in an emergency situation is the starting point for all evacuation planning projects. A better understanding of the decisions made by the occupants during an emergency can help to develop calculation tools that can create more efficient forms of visual and audio communication and implement better procedures for evacuating people. The difficulty in studying human behavior lies in the very nature of emergencies, as they are unpredictable, somewhat exceptional and not reproducible. Fire drills play a role in training emergency teams and building occupants, but they cannot be used to collect real data on people’s behavior unless the drill is so realistic that it could endanger the occupants’ safety. In the procedure described here, through the use of a Virtual Reality device that encompasses all critical phases, including user characterization data before the virtual experience, building design parameters and fire scenario, key variables of human behavior can be recorded in order to evaluate each user’s experience satisfactorily. This research shows that the average delay in starting an evacuation is greater than one minute, that anxiety levels and heart rates increase during a fire and that people do not pay attention to evacuation signals. Further analysis of the quantitative data may also provide the causes for decision-making. The use of devices that create realistic virtual environments is a solution for conducting “what if” tests to study and record the decisions taken by the users who undergo the experience in a way that is completely safe for them.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/12/3607virtual environmentbehaviorfireevacuation |
| spellingShingle | Carlos de Lama Cristina González-Gaya Alberto Sánchez-Lite An Experimental Test Proposal to Study Human Behaviour in Fires Using Virtual Environments Sensors virtual environment behavior fire evacuation |
| title | An Experimental Test Proposal to Study Human Behaviour in Fires Using Virtual Environments |
| title_full | An Experimental Test Proposal to Study Human Behaviour in Fires Using Virtual Environments |
| title_fullStr | An Experimental Test Proposal to Study Human Behaviour in Fires Using Virtual Environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Experimental Test Proposal to Study Human Behaviour in Fires Using Virtual Environments |
| title_short | An Experimental Test Proposal to Study Human Behaviour in Fires Using Virtual Environments |
| title_sort | experimental test proposal to study human behaviour in fires using virtual environments |
| topic | virtual environment behavior fire evacuation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/12/3607 |
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