Abstract
Understanding pedestrian exit choice behavior during emergency situations is important for improving evacuation efficiency. Virtual Reality is a promising technique that can be used to study pedestrian evacuation behavior. However, studies comparing evacuation behavior in real and virtual environments are still scarce. This paper explores Virtual Reality as a novel technique to study pedestrian exit choice behavior during evacuations. Two experimental methods were compared, namely a field experiment in a real building environment and a Virtual Reality experiment that covers the same situation. The comparison focuses on the commonalities and differences in the pedestrians’ exit choice behavior between the field experiment and the VR experiment. The results show that the pedestrians’ exit choice behavior during the evacuation are overall similar in the field experiment and the VR experiment. The promising results show the use of VR can be considered as a research tool for research on exit choice behavior during evacuations.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting |
Publisher | Transportation Research Board (TRB) |
Number of pages | 5 |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Event | Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting - Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C., United States Duration: 13 Jan 2019 → 17 Jan 2019 |
Conference
Conference | Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting |
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Abbreviated title | TRB 2019 |
Country/Territory | United States |
City | Washington D.C. |
Period | 13/01/19 → 17/01/19 |
Keywords
- Virtual Reality experiment
- Exit choice behavior
- Evacuation
- Field experiment
- Evacuation drill