A Study on Evacuation Behavior in Physical and Virtual Reality Experiments

Abstract

Comparing results obtained in Virtual Reality to those obtained in physical experiments is key for validation of Virtual Reality as a research method in the field of Human Behavior in Fire. A series of experiments based on similar evacuation scenarios in a high-rise building with evacuation elevators was conducted. The experiments consisted of a physical experiment in a building, and two Virtual Reality experiments in a virtual representation of the same building: one using a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE), and one using a head-mounted display (HMD). The data obtained in the HMD experiment is compared to data obtained in the CAVE and physical experiment. The three datasets were compared in terms of pre-evacuation time, noticing escape routes, walking paths, exit choice, waiting times for the elevators and eye-tracking data related to emergency signage. The HMD experiment was able to reproduce the data obtained in the physical experiment in terms of pre-evacuation time and exit choice, but there were large differences with the results from the CAVE experiment. Possible factors affecting the data produced using Virtual Reality are identified, such as spatial orientation and movement in the virtual environment.

BIM-based simulation tools for occupant evacuation: a scoping review

“…The simulation results from the study demonstrated that increasing the width of emergency doors and controlling the evacuation speed of evacuees in different areas can significantly improve the evacuation efficiency. Arias et al (2022) conducted a study on evacuation behavior in VR and physical experience. To validate VR as a study method in the area of human behavior in fire, the results from the VR studies must be compared to those from practical investigations.…”

“…Arias et al (2022) conducted a study on evacuation behavior in VR and physical experience. To validate VR as a study method in the area of human behavior in fire, the results from the VR studies must be compared to those from practical investigations.…”

Understanding crowd responses to perceived hostile threats: An innovative multidisciplinary approach

“…Our research builds on the methods used in Drury et al [12] and researchers in the field of human behaviour in fire [5][23] by testing psychological phenomena such as perceived threat and decision-making in real time. We took a number of crucial behavioural measures.…”

“…Researchers in both safety engineering and crowd psychology have attempted to understand how and why crowd members behave the way they do in response to potential threats. For example, safety engineers have examined decision-making in emergencies such as fires [5] and behavioural responses to previous real-world threatssuch as earthquakes [6]. Similarly, crowd psychologists have focused on the processes underpinning collective responses such as group members' social relationships to one another which can lead to trust, expected support, and responsibility to help fellow group members in threatening situations (e.g., [7] [8]]).…”