Abstract
Comparing results obtained in Virtual Reality to those obtained in physical experiments is key for validation of Virtual Reality as a research method in the field of Human Behavior in Fire. A series of experiments based on similar evacuation scenarios in a high-rise building with evacuation elevators was conducted. The experiments consisted of a physical experiment in a building, and two Virtual Reality experiments in a virtual representation of the same building: one using a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE), and one using a head-mounted display (HMD). The data obtained in the HMD experiment is compared to data obtained in the CAVE and physical experiment. The three datasets were compared in terms of pre-evacuation time, noticing escape routes, walking paths, exit choice, waiting times for the elevators and eye-tracking data related to emergency signage. The HMD experiment was able to reproduce the data obtained in the physical experiment in terms of pre-evacuation time and exit choice, but there were large differences with the results from the CAVE experiment. Possible factors affecting the data produced using Virtual Reality are identified, such as spatial orientation and movement in the virtual environment.
Highlights
Virtual Reality (VR) has been used for data collection in the field of Human Behavior in Fire for many years
The results presented in this paper comprise the following aspects: (1) Pre-evacuation time (2) Noticing available escape routes (3) Walking paths (4) Exit choice (5) Waiting time (6) Eye-tracking data (7) VR-related results
The results show that the data produced in the head-mounted display (HMD) experiment was similar to that produced in physical experiment in several ways, and did not contradict the waiting times observed in the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) experiment
Summary
Virtual Reality (VR) has been used for data collection in the field of Human Behavior in Fire for many years. A physical experiment (either laboratory or field experiment) can be replicated in VR [10, 16] In this case, the high level of experimental control of the physical experiment matches that of VR. The high level of experimental control of the physical experiment matches that of VR This match allows for more precise comparisons between the datasets, but the ecological validity of the data may be lower in VR than in physical experiments [9]. These limitations are intrinsic to the source of data and a recurrent theme in validation of any method. Its comparison with a physical experiment is relevant to the validation process
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