Development of mobile evacuation guides for travellers and rescue personnel

Whenever an emergency situation occurs, a correct response of the rescue teams and an optimal communication and coordination among them is required to assure that all the people needing help are assisted within a short period of time. This paper presents an approach for the development of innovative HMIs within SAVE ME project to save the lives of travellers and rescuers, giving particular emphasis to the most vulnerable people. The emergency response system detects natural and man-made disaster events in public transport terminals/vehicles and critical infrastructures and supports quick and optimal mass evacuation guidance

Persuasion in the wild: communication, technology, and event safety

Recent disasters during major events have resulted in increased focus on influencing crowds, both during emergencies and under normal circumstances. In this exploratory study event experts were interviewed to uncover good practices regarding the use of technology to communicate with crowds.\ud \ud They agree that, rather than using directive means and force, crowds can best be persuaded; proving relevant information enables them to decide for themselves what course of action to take. Some of the experts remain critical about use of social media at events; effectiveness depends on target group composition, visitors’ engagement in the event, and reliability. Additionally, the abundance of information visitors have at their fingertips may reduce effectiveness of information emitted by organisers. Especially important in communicating with crowds is “communicating as one”, not only pertaining to explicit messages but also to non-verbal communication.\ud \ud Based on these results, implications for event safety are discussed