Using immersive video environment simulations for calibration of evacuation models

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geospatial TechnologiesThis thesis explores the potential of Immersive Video Environment (IVE) simulations for studying evacuation behavior and calibration parameters of evacuation models. Crowd disasters have increased in frequency and intensity and have resulted in many casualties in recent years. These disasters can occur at different scenarios and are caused by a myriad of reasons. Over the years, the methods to study the evacuation behavior have evolved and evacuation models are extensively used. There are many kinds of models that are used, however there are many issues faced in the calibration of these models. The reason for the problems in calibration mostly stem from a scarcity of data related to evacuation behavior. It is difficult to conduct evacuation drills and gather data from actual evacuations. Virtual Reality (VR), in particular the IVE can help bridge this gap by allowing for systematic studies, that are safe, reliable and with high ecological validity to be conducted. To study the viability of IVE simulations for this, a user study was conducted to observe the evacuation behavior and see the impact of building familiarity and visibility on evacuation performance. The impact of building familiarity and visibility was studied on the Route Choice, Exit Choice, Decision Time, Total Evacuation Time and User errors. The results of the study showed that the evacuation performance increases with building familiarity and is reduced when the visibility is low, this is much more apparent when the users are not familiar with the building. The study also established the Route Choice as being the main contributing factor to the Total Evacuation Time and showed that in most of the cases (75% of the time) the people not familiar with the building chose familiar exits while the people familiar with the building chose emergency exits. The results of the study coincide with the existing literature and show that the use of IVE simulations is a viable method for studying evacuation behavior and calibration parameters for evacuation models