Presenting evacuation instructions on mobile devices by means of location-aware 3D virtual environments

ABSTRACT

Natural and man-made disasters present the need to efficiently and effectively evacuate the people occupying the affected buildings. Providing appropriate evacuation instructions to the occupants of the building is a crucial aspect for the success of the evacuation. This paper presents an approach for giving evacuation instructions on mobile devices based on interactive location-aware 3D models of the building. User's position into the building is determined by using active short-range RFID technology. A preliminary user evaluation of the system has been carried out in the building of our Department.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.3 COMPUTER GRAPHICS
      I.3.6 Methodology and Techniques
          Subjects: Interaction techniques

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI); Evaluation/methodology

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation

Keywords:
3D models, RFID, emergencies, mobile devices, navigation instructions