Using a Telepresence System to Investigate Route Choice Behavior

TL;DR

This study combines a telepresence system with a traffic simulator to evaluate evacuation strategies, finding guiding lines most effective and validating telepresence for evacuation research.

Contribution

It introduces a novel integration of telepresence and traffic simulation for evacuation studies, enabling new evaluation methods with simulated agents.

Findings

Guiding lines are most effective for evacuation support.

Natural following behavior is nearly as effective as guiding lines.

Telepresence systems are validated for evacuation research.

Abstract

A combination of a telepresence system and a microscopic traffic simulator is introduced. It is evaluated using a hotel evacuation scenario. Four different kinds of supporting information are compared, standard exit signs, floor plans with indicated exit routes, guiding lines on the floor and simulated agents leading the way. The results indicate that guiding lines are the most efficient way to support an evacuation but the natural behavior of following others comes very close. On another level the results are consistent with previously performed real and virtual experiments and validate the use of a telepresence system in evacuation studies. It is shown that using a microscopic traffic simulator extends the possibilities for evaluation, e.g. by adding simulated humans to the environment.