The influence of environmental features on route selection in an emergency situation

Understanding the influence of external information at a lower level of awareness during the processes of route selection could be a key factor to predict user's movements within complex buildings, avoiding wayfinding problems and improving egress in emergency situations. This study aims to verify whether corridor intersection configuration attributes, such as width and brightness, act as factors of attraction to improve the affordance of indoor hallways during an emergency egress situation, using a VR-based methodology. The main hypotheses are that users tend to move along either, wider or brighter corridors. Thirty volunteers participated in this study, moving along 57 different corridors, according to the experimental conditions of the study. The results suggest that people prefer to follow brighter pathways in “T-type” and “F-type” intersections, and wider corridors in “T-type” intersections. In situations where these variables are in conflict, there is a preference for brighter paths in both intersection configurations.

► We used a Virtual Reality methodology to study path selection during emergency situation.
► 57 corridors with the studies variables (width, brightness and intersection type) were presented in a constant stimulus combined with a two-forced choices method.
► People prefer to follow by wider and brighter corridors.
► Brightness is a stronger factor of actrattion than width when they are in opposing situations.
► Corridor brightness can be manipulated to direct almost 85% of people through safe paths, these variables could be effectively used as a reasonable reinforcement of information, or even an alternative for emergency signage.