Virtual Reality-based Emergency Evacuation Safety Information Design Research
- Name
- Zihao Wang
- Year
- 2023
- Institution
- Lisbon School of Architecture Universidade de Lisboa
- Supervisors
- Francisco Rebelo, Renke He
- Discipline
- Design
- Scope
- Emergency Design
- Taxonomy
- Praxiology
- Type
- Theoretical/Practical
- Language
- English
- Wordcount / Pagecount
- 40,916 / 164
- Joint supervision
- Yes (Hunan University)
Human-centered VR design for emergency evacuation and alarm system optimization
Research Process (7 methods)
x
Workers recruited from a Chinese medical equipment company
multidisciplinary team of specialists including designers, psychologists, architects, and ergonomics experts
multidisciplinary expert team joined by front-line employees from a medical equipment company
multidisciplinary team of specialists including designers, psychologists, architects, and ergonomics experts
Workers from a Chinese medical equipment company
| # | Name of Method | Research Phase | Research Approach | Researcher Role | Object of Study / Participants | N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Literature review | Exploratory | Qualitative | x | x | x |
| 2 | Usability test | Exploratory | Qualitative | x | Workers recruited from a Chinese medical equipment company | 60 |
| 3 | Expert panel | Exploratory | Qualitative | x | multidisciplinary team of specialists including designers, psychologists, architects, and ergonomics experts | 6 |
| 4 | Focus group | Generative | Qualitative | x | multidisciplinary expert team joined by front-line employees from a medical equipment company | 8 |
| 5 | Usability test | Evaluative | Qualitative | x | multidisciplinary team of specialists including designers, psychologists, architects, and ergonomics experts | 6 |
| 6 | Usability test | Evaluative | Qualitative | x | 18 | |
| 7 | Usability test | Evaluative | Qualitative | x | Workers from a Chinese medical equipment company | 90 |
Knowledge Transfer & Exchange
Knowledge Exchange (PhD Process): Produced with input
| IK&T | Academia | Design Practice | Society |
|---|---|---|---|
| Context | No | No | No |
| Vision | No | No | No |
| Means | Yes | Yes | No |
Recommendations (6)
Enhance VR-based evacuation research by incorporating additional sensory channels such as smell and touch to improve immersion and ecological validity.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Introduce social influence variables into VR evacuation studies, including the presence of other occupants, social norms, affiliation, and authority effects.
- Scope:
- Meso → Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Expand VR scenarios so participants can perform a wider range of realistic pre-evacuation actions and interact with building personnel after receiving alarms.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium-High
Investigate how individual and cultural differences affect alarm perception, urgency, and compliance, using diverse samples beyond company workers in China.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Test the relative effectiveness of specific modalities in multimodal alarm systems, controlling visual, auditory, and haptic reinforcement separately.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- High
Translate behavioral knowledge from VR studies into practical applications for architecture, simulation tools, behavioral interventions, and the training of safety managers.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium