
Behavioural Performance of People during Circulation and Movement in
Building Environments
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR BEHAVIOUR EXPERIMENTS
Over the next few months the Fire Safety Engineering Group of the University of Greenwich will be
undertaking a series of experimental trials investigating people interaction
within the built environment. This research will contribute to improving the
design of buildings for both normal people circulation and emergency movement.
We are looking for test subjects to contribute to this important and worthwhile
research. Volunteers will be required to enter a building via a staircase,
climb a single flight of stairs unaided and navigate around the first floor of
the building. Volunteers will not be exposed to any conditions that would not be
expected during normal movement within an office environment. The trials will
take place
in one of the historic buildings on the Maritime Campus of the university
located in Greenwich.
If you are interested please read on.
PURPOSE OF TRIALS:
The purpose of this study is to better
understand the nature of human interaction with building configuration and
layout. The project will attempt to collect human performance data relating to
the behavioural responses of people during circulation and movement within
arbitrarily complex building environments. The study consists of a number of
trials involving volunteers simply moving through an unfamiliar building space.
The actions of the volunteers will be recorded on video allowing for later
detailed analysis of their actions and performance. The data collected will
extend our understanding of how people interact with building spaces and
ultimately to the design of more people friendly and safer building
environments. The data collected will also contribute to improving computer
simulation tools used to simulate both pedestrian movement and evacuation in
buildings.
The nature of the experiments
cannot be revealed at this point in time as knowledge of the precise purpose of
the experiments will bias the results generated. However, it can
be stated that participants will not be expected to do anything that they
would not normally do in moving around a typical building environment.
This work is sponsored by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.
THE TRIALS:
The trials will take place in
one of the historic buildings on the Maritime Campus of the University of
Greenwich located in Greenwich. Some 120 volunteers representing a
broad distribution of age ranges, genders, mobility levels and social
backgrounds are required. Unfortunately,
due to the nature of these trials, people under the age of 18 or who have severe
mobility impairments/disabilities or who have severe vision impairment cannot
participate.
Individual participants will be asked to
navigate their way around the selected building interior until they reach a
defined exit. Participants will be free to select their own route
through the building and will proceed until the end point is reached or a member
of staff indicates the trial has ended.
Participants will be equipped
with head gear fitted with a video recording device that will effectively record
what they see. The actions and behaviour of the participants will also be
recorded by video cameras located at fixed points throughout the building.
At the end of the trials,
participants will be requested to complete a questionnaire and participate in a
one-to-one interview. Once started, the entire process will require
approximately 25 minutes however, participants may be requested to wait prior to
the start of the trial or prior to completing the questionnaire/interview (The
start time and the duration can be flexible to meet your own preference).
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(a) |
(b) |
(a) Miniaturized recording equipment, with digital camera
fixed to head gear worn by participants. (b) Participant wearing head gear and
camera.
WHEN WILL THE TRIALS TAKE PLACE:
Trials are planned for to take place throughout the next six months. More information will be available on this web site when it is
available. A full schedule will be posted when available.
INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING:
If you are interested in participating in the trials please
contact the following people:
Mr Hui Xie
Email: H.Xie@gre.ac.uk
At this stage we simply require
to know your age and gender, contact information (phone number and
email address) and availability. If you have any date/time preferences please
let us know.
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