A recommendation for improving the sense of orientation by enhancing visual communication on wayfinding systems: a case study of Minneapolis skyway system

As the world becomes more complex and the population more mobile, people increasingly rely on wayfinding systems. The task for graphic designers, architects and other professionals who participate in building planning, is to design a sufficient and clear wayfinding system that will direct people in and out of the building, around the building, and to their destination effectively, comfortably, and confidently, without wasting any time or energy. The lack of orientation in an unfamiliar environment can lead to physical exhaustion, stress, anxiety, and frustration, all threaten their sense of well-being and limit one\u27s mobility. This study focuses on wayfinding challenges in the Minneapolis skyway system in Minnesota, a pedestrian skywalk system that currently connects various buildings in Downtown Minneapolis. Wayfinding and visual communication criteria used in evaluating the skyway were adopted from previous studies or concepts from wayfinding professionals. As would happen with any tunnel-based skywalk, one of the major wayfinding problems of this complex skyway system is that it lacks a sense of orientation. Many people, especially first time visitors, get lost without having any knowledge of where they are within the skyway system.;After studying this problem, design solutions were developed to improve existing wayfinding conditions of the Minneapolis skyway by enhancing the sense of orientation rather than relying only on signage-based solutions as a wayfinding aid. The design recommendations adopt Kevin Lynch\u27s elements of districts and landmarks, two of his five important elements necessary in forming mental maps as navigational aids to enhance wayfinding performance. These elements increase a person\u27s ability to see and remember patterns of an environmental space by creating one\u27s own mental map

Fully automated urban traffic system

The replacement of the driver with an automatic system which could perform the functions of guiding and routing a vehicle with a human's capability of responding to changing traffic demands was discussed. The problem was divided into four technological areas; guidance, routing, computing, and communications. It was determined that the latter three areas being developed independent of any need for fully automated urban traffic. A guidance system that would meet system requirements was not being developed but was technically feasible

Feasibility of V/STOL concepts for short-haul transport aircraft

Feasibility of V/STOL concepts for short-haul transport aircraf

Evaluating Dynamic Signage for Emergency Evacuation using an Immersive Video Environment

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.There are numerous reasons to evacuate a building in case of emergency; generally evacuation runs in case of constraints as fire, earthquake, indoor air pollution incidents, terrorist attacks and so on. There was a fire tragedy reported on January 28, 2013 in a night club in Brazil that many victims confused the exit sign with that for the toilet sign, where 50 bodies were found dead in toilet. It is reported that the victims lost their sense of direction due to the smoke [1]. Consequently the traditional static emergency signs are no longer effective especially in a complex building. They are not intelligent to decide how many people are using different exit, where the fire is and how much it may spread or how the evacuee will decide and think while they are in panic. They are several attempts to simulate the evacuation area and create a better model to dynamically lead the evacuee to exit. However creating such system is difficult because the prediction of behaviors in emergency incidents, modeling and examination in the real scenario are the biggest problems. Evacuation exercise are expensive and time consuming, as a result Virtual Environment (VEs) might be the feasible solution to create the emergency scenario and to study the physical, cognitive, and perceptual capabilities of the evacuees, letting them to experience and feel the emergency incident that are impossible to apply in the real world. This project presents the use of VE, called Immersive Video Environment (IVE) [2] to investigate and evaluate the possible dynamic signage inside a building to guide the evacuees to safety and exit. IVE system contains three screens with 140 degree from each other using 3 back projected wall at the same time. In this study dynamic signs inform the evacuee by following the exit signs cause of fire emergency and move towards the exit. Generally the user of VE is disoriented or discomforted due to navigation (Travel) part. As a result, following factors are evaluated by using some pre-defined questionnaire such as Simulator Sickness Questionnaire and NASA TLX: 1. The pre-movement time or response time to the dynamic signs. 2. Panic behavior or Decision making 3. Comfort of the system due to navigation part. 4. Performance of IVE 5. Realism of the simulation 8 scenarios have been managed for this experiment in which each of them last around 30 to 40 seconds for a trip from start point to the exit door. In the entire scenario, the exit signs will be varied. The test participants were 10 people (5 Female, 5 Male) who come from different countries not specially Germany. There were great considerable results of decision making in this study for example, there were several errors for the fire sign during the experiment besides the response time for the fire sign were highly more than the other designs. From the evaluator recognition, it is said that their response has been influenced by the exit door or the design of sign. Generally the performance and the comfort of the system show interesting results in the emergency simulation and footage video for VE. There were a significant different in term of discomfort between men and women and the results of their response time had significant difference. By users rating, the realism of the simulation has been confirmed. For response time experiment, some errors and significant variation were observed during the individual test. The IVE can be used for future experiment investigation such as way finding. The proposed system shall help to yield more reliable information about human behavior and decision making in emergency egress and creating a model. Locations, timing, duration and speed, helping from dynamic signs can be considered as decision-making process subject to emergency evacuation

A systematic review of factors influencing signage salience in indoor environments

Wayfinding signage is an intermediary public facility that coordinates the relationship between space and people, and it is crucial to help people find their way in complex indoor environments. In people’s cognitive behaviour towards wayfinding signs, the visual salience of the signs is the prerequisite and key to ensuring their effective operation. This paper aims to review published research articles on the effect of indoor environments on the saliency of wayfinding signs. The literature review was conducted by PICO methodology to formulate the research question and develop search strategies. Relevant research articles were identified by systematically searching electronic databases, including Web of Science, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and EBSCO. This paper summarises two categories of factors influencing signage salience: (1) floor plan factors and (2) environmental factors. This study examined and condensed the attributes of wayfinding signage and their impact on how pedestrians perceive visuals while navigating. Exploring the elements that influence the visual prominence of indoor signs enhances our comprehension of how pedestrians engage with visually guided information indoors. Furthermore, this offers a theoretical foundation for the realm of indoor wayfinding

Traffic Information Signs, Colour Scheme of Emergency Exit Portals and Acoustic Systems for Road Tunnel Emergency Evacuations

This work presents a literature review and a questionnaire study with 62 participants aimed at providing recommendations on the design of a set of evacuation systems for road tunnels: 1) Traffic Information Sign (TIS) - message and size of the sign (large or small), colour scheme, and use of pictograms and/or flashing lights, 2) Emergency exit portal layout - colour scheme, 3) Acoustic systems - voice message and/or warning signals. The TIS is recommended to include the use of two panels which present text (in amber) and flashing lights in one panel and the emergency exit pictorial symbol in green in the other panel. An increased size of the panels has a positive effect on capturing participants’ attention. The recommended colour scheme for the emergency exit portal is safety green for the portal and a “green darker than the safety green” for the door. Vocal messages are not recommended since they may be quite difficult to perceive in tunnels. The use of a warning signal (F_SAW signal) based on British Standards is recommended

Mobile assistive technologies for the visually impaired

There are around 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, and around 370,000 people are registered as blind or partially sighted in the UK. Ongoing advances in information technology (IT) are increasing the scope for IT-based mobile assistive technologies to facilitate the independence, safety, and improved quality of life of the visually impaired. Research is being directed at making mobile phones and other handheld devices accessible via our haptic (touch) and audio sensory channels. We review research and innovation within the field of mobile assistive technology for the visually impaired and, in so doing, highlight the need for successful collaboration between clinical expertise, computer science, and domain users to realize fully the potential benefits of such technologies. We initially reflect on research that has been conducted to make mobile phones more accessible to people with vision loss. We then discuss innovative assistive applications designed for the visually impaired that are either delivered via mainstream devices and can be used while in motion (e.g., mobile phones) or are embedded within an environment that may be in motion (e.g., public transport) or within which the user may be in motion (e.g., smart homes)