ASTERS: Smart audio versus dynamic sign effectiveness for emergency school evacuation

Abstract

Emergency evacuation procedures require occupants of a building to stop what they are doing and find the nearest exit. This study compared the efficacy of smart audio evacuation guides to traditional exit signs and dynamic signage. Using a simulated school environment with spatial sound, 227 participants viewing a desktop display while wearing headphones were asked to navigate the school and then escape to the nearest exit when an active shooter alarm went off. Participants completed two similar escape scenarios, one in which a “normal crowd” (An ) was moving toward the exit, and another in which the crowd ran the wrong direction (“reverse crowd”, Ar). This allowed a test of the effectiveness of the audio alerts in competing with the distraction of the reverse crowd. Participants’ time to exit and rate of choosing the correct exit was measured and compared with an analogous study comparing dynamic signage for evacuation guidance with traditional static exit signs (n = 97). Results indicated that participants with smart audio evacuated statistically significantly more quickly than those with dynamic signs in both the normal crowd and reverse crowd conditions. Participants with smart audio who faced a reverse crowd also chose the correct exit significantly more often than those with dynamic signs and a reverse crowd. These results help designers of security systems and schools determine what tools to implement smart audio and appropriate strategies for general evacuation