Due to increasing demand and interest in the interaction of technology platforms and integration of different types of systems and technologies, some tools are already providing practical ways to develop integrated applications. The tools explored by this article are Unity, a platform for game development, and Vuforia, an SDK, software development kit, for augmented reality creation. The coalition proposal of these resources is to create an intuitive escape route that can be used for the evacuation of buildings or open spaces in view of imminent danger, such as radiation leakage, and that can be accessed from a target available at the institution. It has also the intention of simulating situations that involve training of personnel in order to obtain methods that allow to save financial resources, and even to avoid that those who are involved are exposed to risks unnecessarily. The simulator is expected to help design, test, and improve ways to maintain the physical integrity of the facility and provide end users with a better sense of immersion and attractiveness

Mattos, Karen Salazar Ribeiro de

Mól, Antônio Carlos Abreu

Santo, André Cotelli

Silva, Marcio Henrique

Carpe dIEN

2017 International Nuclear Atlantic Conference - INAC 2017 
Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, October 22-27, 2017 
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE ENERGIA NUCLEAR – ABEN 
  
 
 
ESCAPE ROUTE SIMULATOR UTILIZING AUGMENTED REALITY 
 
Karen Salazar Ribeiro de Mattos
1,2
, Antônio Carlos de A. Mól
1,2
, André Cotelli do E. 
Santo
1,2
, Marcio Henrique Silva
1
 
 
 
1
 Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN / CNEN - RJ) 
Rua Hélio de Almeida, 75 
21941-906 – Rio de Janeiro, RJ 
karensalazar.1190@gmail.com 
 
2
 Centro Universitário Carioca - UniCarioca 
Avenida Paulo de Frontin 568 
20261-243 Rio de Janeiro, RJ 
 
 
ABSTRACT 
 
Due to increasing demand and interest in the interaction of technology platforms and integration of different 
types of systems and technologies, some tools are already providing practical ways to develop integrated 
applications. The tools explored by this article are Unity, a platform for game development, and Vuforia, an 
SDK, software development kit, for augmented reality creation. The coalition proposal of these resources is to 
create an intuitive escape route that can be used for the evacuation of buildings or open spaces in view of 
imminent danger, such as radiation leakage, and that can be accessed from a target available at the institution. It 
has also the intention of simulating situations that involve training of personnel in order to obtain methods that 
allow to save financial resources, and even to avoid that those who are involved are exposed to risks 
unnecessarily. The simulator is expected to help design, test, and improve ways to maintain the physical 
integrity of the facility and provide end users with a better sense of immersion and attractiveness. 
 
 
1. INTRODUCTION 
 
Physical safety of personal and general public must be one of the most carefully thought 
strategies. Each institution should take into account all the dangers that can occur inside their 
sites. In an environment where the nuclear waste must be extremely controlled having 
emergency measures in case of leakage or any other danger is essential. In order to keep the 
integrity of all the population and of the facilities itself, strategies must be elaborated, tested 
and improved. In face of that, one of the measures is a study of ways to help and provide 
personnel and visitors with an evacuation route, in which the virtual reality can make a major 
difference when providing a visualization of said itinerary. 
 
As of a way to facilitate the representation of the environment, a 3D model of the site was 
created and the routes animated for the detailed model on a virtual reality is much closer to 
the real world and provides more accuracy then a 2D or an abstract representation [1]. The 
Virtual Reality (VR) can show a representation much more close to the reality enabling a 
deeper interaction in real time and can be used in a various areas[2], such as training, virtual 
experimentations and simulations. 
 
This technology has become a constant in the latest years. This framework of techniques and 
tools have been employed in several projects for the regular market of virtual reality [5].  
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
However, the day-to-day use of the Augmented Reality (AR) have been little explored despite 
its huge potential. The advantage of the VA is that people can be situated in a location and 
visualize their surroundings in a stress free placement inside a non-real setting where they can 
find their safe way out. 
 
This project has as objective the studies of Virtual Reality, with complementary techniques 
such as Augmented Reality, in the development of an application for a simulation of an 
emergency escape route. The proposal of this resources coalition is the creation of an intuitive 
escape route, that can be used to simulate building or open space evictions in light of 
imminent danger and that can be accessed from a mobile device. For this work a nuclear 
surrounding was specifically used as a manner of support for the evacuation of the nuclear 
facilities and its recognition. It is of major importance in this paper that the technics applied 
are covered and well explained. 
 
 
2. METHODOLOGY 
 
The evacuation route studied in this project was design for the Instituto de Engenharia 
Nuclear (IEN), which is located in Rio de Janeiro. To show an overview of the surrounding 
the Vuforia tools opened the possibility to see the targets and display the objects in AR world 
[4], in this case the IEN model in a panoramic view. Unity 3D enabled the set up with the 
Vuforia and the creation of animations that demonstrate an evacuation path following the 
installations predetermined safety standards. 
 
In the following, the tools for this Project are explained and described. 
 
2.1. Autodesk 3Ds Max 
 
The Autodesk 3Ds Max is an animation and modeling software for 3D objects such as 
characters, environments and also for rendering games and scenes. The software aims to be a 
complete solution for 3D animation, texture and modeling [7], taking into consideration the 
professionals need for the developing of applications, animation, and even cinema. 
 
By using the 3Ds Max the IEN building external structure could be three-dimensional 
modeled flowing its real respective measures (height, weight and length) and appearance. The 
fig. 1 shows the 3Ds Max layout.  
 
 
 
Figure 1:  Autodesk 3Ds Max. 
 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
2.2. Unity 3D 
 
Unity 3D is a game development ecosystem, flexible and efficient that provides a set of tools 
that are intuitive to create interactive 3D games and contents. It targets a variety of platforms 
in a professional-like quality [3]. The engine provides a multitude of features extremely 
useful for an ample game developing experience, having two bigger advantages, its visual 
workflow and a broad cross-platform support [3]. It is considered multiplatform for its ability 
to create applications for a variety of devices such computers, mobiles, web players, virtual 
realities and so on.  
 
Unity 3D makes the configurations of the terrain and setup for all the assets and 3D objects, 
such as the IEN building, and supports external software, for example Vuforia. In light of 
that, this game engine was chosen for the developed project, once it allows the integration 
with different software, particularly the Augmented Reality used for this project. 
 
In this project, the virtual IEN building was imported from 3Ds Max into the game engine, 
fig. 2. The terrain, made exclusively in Unity and created to support the building was 
positioned to create a better understanding of the IEN grounds and make it more realistic to 
the user, as it shows the place as it is in real life. With the cameras positioned in the scene and 
the lighting in place the user can have a perfect experience and recognize the place perfectly 
when the escape route is playing on the screen. 
 
 
 
Figure 2:  Setup of IENs buildings on the scene in Unity. 
 
2.3. Vuforia 
 
Augmented Reality is the term used for the piece of technology that enables the virtual reality 
to blend with the real world. The virtual image generated as a layer on top of the real image 
can be interacted with, combining both worlds. Three steps makes it work, Recognition, 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
Tracking and Mix; first, it recognizes the object, second, the target is localized in real time 
and third, the virtual object is shown on screen [8]. 
 
Vuforia is a software development kit (SDK) for Augmented Reality created by Qualcomm 
that uses tracking and image recognition in order to place 3D objects on screen [8]. It is a 
recent mean of integration of the Augmented Reality and mobile device. It supports an ample 
range of platforms, allowing its utilization by mobile systems, as Android or iOS. It also 
permits access to a cloud for hosting and management of the targets used on the application. 
 
In order to make this happen an image or an object, called target, must be used (fig. 3a). Once 
the object is located by the camera the virtual element is loaded (fig. 3b), mixing reality with 
the virtual world.  
 
  
     (a)                  (b) 
Figure 3 (a, b):  Vuforia targeting an image. 
 
2.4. Integration 
 
The Unity 3D engine made a partnership with Vuforia in order to embrace the VR developers 
enabling a combined experience and inserting it in a real world [6]. 
 
In order to work with Vuforia, the SDK is necessary. It can be downloaded on Vuforia 
website, but attention must be paid to the Unity version, otherwise it won’t be compatible 
with the Game Engine. In Vuforia website can also be found the cloud where the targets are 
hold, and the developing segment is found; there the license key is copied, and pasted in you 
unity project (fig.4), and the targets can be downloaded to fit into unity, as Vuforia has its 
own processes to import them. In order to import the target to unity, correctly one must be 
attentive to the unity Version of the file, otherwise it won’t be validated. 
 
Unity also holds the possibilities of importing assets either from its own library or personal 
design. For this project this capability was taken advantage of, and the previously made 3D 
model from IEN was used. 
 
After all this integration and importation steps the setup is ready and the tool can be utilized 
without major problems. And if difficulty are found, Vuforia also has a package that can be 
imported to the project to serve as a guide as to how things are use and configured.  
 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
With the building in place and a scene created, the animations took part as unity makes it 
easy for the developer to make them. It has its own animation dock and a few tools that use 
the objects features to manipulate them. As the objective was to show the user a safe way 
toward the exit, the camera was transported, by unity’s animator, through a paths that takes 
the user to a safer location. 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 4:  Vuforia and Unity integration. 
 
 
 
3. RESULTS 
 
The preliminary results has showed that the interactivity with the user, through the camera, be 
it from the smartphone or tablet, make the application something viable and fast. By pointing 
the camera at a stipulated target a predetermined virtual object will appear on the screen, in 
this case the IEN building, for an overview. The application shows promise and its use in a 
mobile is practical and agile. With the targets at strategic points, the routes are well situated 
and easy to navigate 
 
The preliminary tests were made on an Android mobile. The application was transferred via 
USB cable, mainly for its particle attributes, and installed on the mobile, no difficulties or 
errors occurred. With the application in place, the tests begin; the device camera turns on as 
expected and the targeting worked perfectly (fig. 4). The tracking worked without problems 
and the 3D model was loaded and could be seen on the mobile screen as shown in (fig. 3b). 
With the 3D model on screen the user can have a clear view of the IEN grounds and be 
situated on the area, so when the escape animation begins they can have a better 
understanding of where everything is and to which direction to take. 
 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
 
Figure 4. Camera at the target. 
After a few seconds the animation for the escape route will play, leading the user to the save 
point. The animation will keep playing in a loop, so that the user can locate themselves 
without having to target another image. There are several starting places around the facility 
where the user can find the image target that trigger different animations, all of them leading 
to the meeting point through a safe and easy to follow path. 
 
 
Figure 5. Escape Simulation. 
  
4. CONCLUSIONS 
 
The conjunction of Unity and Vuforia brought to life the evacuation simulator of a nuclear 
facility. The App, by showing the route from the user starting point to the exit point, can be 
used in safety training. As the application was developed for mobile devices, it offers several 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
advantages such as being attractive for the user, for it brings the user into an immersed state 
into the application without the exposure to risks; it gives the opportunity to evaluate 
facilities that are not yet built or that have a difficult access; it also contributes to a better 
planning, training or simulation for the safety of personnel and visitors in the nuclear area and 
therefore it helps to evaluate its risks. 
 
Another advantage of this application, as it's developed for mobile devices, is its accessibility. 
In light of widespread use of smart devices, such as smartphones and tablets, this software is 
easy to download and install. The simulator is expected to help design, test, and improve 
ways to maintain the physical integrity of the facility and provide end users with a better 
sense of immersion and attractiveness.  
 
The combination of Unity 3D and Vuforia enabled the creation of an emergency evacuation 
simulator at a nuclear facility. The application, by displaying an escape route from the user's 
location to the exit meeting point, can be used in physical security training. 
The simulator is expected to help design, test, and improve ways to maintain the physical 
integrity of the facility and provide end users with a better sense of immersion and 
attractiveness. 
 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
This research was sponsored by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível 
Superior – CAPES and Conselho Nacional de desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - 
CNPq. Our thanks also to the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - 
FAPERJ and Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear - CNEN, that, through the Instituto de 
Engenharia Nuclear - IEN, has provided all necessary resources to the development of this 
work. 
 
 
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Escape route simulator utilizing augmented reality

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Escape route simulator utilizing augmented reality

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