Evacuation decision-making in fire Situation: Base on eye movement experiment in physical and virtual environments

The increasing prevalence of mixed-use structures has engendered substantial fire risks, making the effectiveness of safety evacuation signs crucial for ensuring efficient evacuation during emergencies. These evacuation signs play a vital role in providing directional information about the evacuation scene. This study simulates a localized evacuation scene under fire conditions to collect essential experimental data. Utilizing a combination of eye-tracking technology and physical experiments, a series of trials were conducted involving 44 participants. The study compares participants' eye fixation and following behaviors in both physical and virtual environments to evaluate their perceptions of evacuation signs. The findings reveal that safety evacuation signs are the primary source of information for individuals on the fire scene. Moreover, the virtual environment proves to be a reliable substitute for physical environments in evacuation sign studies, as participants demonstrated a consistent understanding of evacuation signs in both contexts. Interestingly, participants exhibited shorter fixation durations on evacuation signs in virtual environments compared to physical ones, with noticeable differences in fixation preferences among various types of signs. These insights can inform the design of effective fire evacuation strategies, aiding in the reduction of potential life and property loss during fire incidents.