Empirical Findings from an Ascending Stair Evacuation Exercise in a Subway Station

Crowd simulations have proven to be a valuable numerical tool for evacuation analysis. There is series of research and empirical evacuation studies for infrastructures and buildings. In contrast to research on evacuation via descending stairs, little attention has been given to ascending stairs, but they are an important criterion, especially in subway stations with high passenger frequencies. In this paper, we present the findings from an evacuation exercise in a subway station with long ascending stairs. The empirical findings showed an increasing walking time on the ascending stairs during evacuation. Also, the flow rate differs with higher flow rates at the beginning of the stairs and lower values at the end of the stairs. The mechanism behind these results has still to be investigated, but the findings already provide an interesting basis for modelling and validating evacuation simulations over long ascending stairs

Virtual Field Studies: Conducting Studies on Public Displays in Virtual Reality

Field studies on public displays can be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. We investigate the feasibility of using virtual reality (VR) as a test-bed to evaluate deployments of public displays. Specifically, we investigate whether results from virtual field studies, conducted in a virtual public space, would match the results from a corresponding real-world setting. We report on two empirical user studies where we compared audience behavior around a virtual public display in the virtual world to audience behavior around a real public display. We found that virtual field studies can be a powerful research tool, as in both studies we observed largely similar behavior between the settings. We discuss the opportunities, challenges, and limitations of using virtual reality to conduct field studies, and provide lessons learned from our work that can help researchers decide whether to employ VR in their research and what factors to account for if doing so

G.: Creating a richer data source for 3D pedestrian flow simulations in public transport

ABSTRACT The distribution of passenger flows in public transport environments can be predicted through simulations of flow characteristics. The flow characteristics are usually based on average values, which do not include behavioural characteristics of people with mobility impairments such as wheelchair users, individuals with prams and small children, elderly people or people with sensory impairments. In the project at hand we gather data on orientation behaviour of these passenger groups through experience and task-related research. In a combination of methods -video and audio recording, user centered scenario and task development, questionnaires, interviews and time-motion-event (TME) recording -qualitative and quantitative data are generated. By linking qualitative information to quantitative measures a multi-dimensional description of the behaviour of individuals and user groups in a transport interchange emerges. It is expected that by comparing and contrasting the resulting behavioural measures to the average values currently used to represent passenger flows, the quality of simulations can be considerably enhanced

On extracting commuter information from GPS Motion Data

Bauer D, Ray M, Brändle N, Schrom-Feiertag H. On extracting commuter information from GPS Motion Data. In: Proceedings of the 5th Annual International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Computing, Networking, and Services. 2008: 7

Making the usage of guidance systems in pedestrian infrastructures measurable using the virtual environment DAVE

This paper presents the development and partial validation of a cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE), which is designed to make the reactions of pedestrians to guidance information (even such that are not technically feasible with current technology) in pedestrian infrastructures (such as airports, train stations or subway stations) measurable. The navigation is designed to be intuitive and easy to learn. It uses the Microsoft Kinect to obtain information on the user’s movement. The user walks in place to move forward in the virtual world and turns her shoulders to invoke rotations in the virtual world to make turns. The virtual world includes simulated pedestrians to enhance the immersion and is equipped with a number of sensors that allow for a multi-method measuring of users. After the implementation of hands free steering two case studies are used to provide first evidence with respect to the possible answers that the research infrastructure is capable of delivering. The validity of the model for steering has been explored using a case study involving parallel test groups that expose individuals to wayfinding exercises in both the real world and the corresponding virtual world. Our results show that the objective distances and times in the real and the virtual worlds, as well as perceptions of distances, times and directions, do not differ statistically significantly. This provides a partial validation of the model for steering. In a second larger case study the hypothesis was tested that using the virtual environment test persons are able to find their way also in complex multi-level infrastructures with only limited learning requirements. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that also in this setting realistic paths (including elevator and escalator usage) are taken by the test persons while observing realistic average velocities over longer trips. We find that our hypotheses have not been rejected by the data. Therefore, this environment is a useful tool for the design of guiding systems for large pedestrian infrastructures

Augmented and Virtual Reality Applied for Innovative, Inclusive and Efficient Participatory Planning

The research project VR-Planning aims to investigate improvements in participatory planning processes through the use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to allow stakeholders to experience designs of buildings and public spaces before they are built. The biggest challenge for participatory planning is to include stakeholders from various backgrounds and with diverse knowledge. Thus VR-Planning examines how AR and VR can be used to optimally support participation in different application areas at different planning phases to facilitate a swift and effective decision-making process. This paper summarizes results from three user experience workshops with citizens and a workshop with an interdisciplinary group of professional planners and academics. Finally, an outlook with usage scenarios in future planning and design projects is provided

Simulation and visualization of the behavior of handicapped people in virtually reconstructed public buildings

Brunnhuber M, Schrom-Feiertag H, Hesina G, Bauer D, Purgathofer W. Simulation and visualization of the behavior of handicapped people in virtually reconstructed public buildings. In: REAL CORP. 2010

Enhancing Operational Police Training in High Stress Situations with Virtual Reality: Experiences, Tools and Guidelines

Virtual Reality (VR) provides great opportunities for police officers to train decision-making and acting (DMA) in cognitively demanding and stressful situations. This paper presents a summary of findings from a three-year project, including requirements collected from experienced police trainers and industry experts, and quantitative and qualitative results of human factor studies and field trials. Findings include advantages of VR training such as the possibility to safely train high-risk situations in controllable and reproducible training environments, include a variety of avatars that would be difficult to use in real-life training (e.g., vulnerable populations or animals) and handle dangerous equipment (e.g., explosives) but also highlight challenges such as tracking, locomotion and intelligent virtual agents. The importance of strong alignment between training didactics and technical possibilities is highlighted and potential solutions presented. Furthermore training outcomes are transferable to real-world police duties and may apply to other domains that would benefit from simulation-based training