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Emergency Escape : Navigation Using Multimodal Sensory Feedback

Nolte, Linda (2025) Emergency Escape : Navigation Using Multimodal Sensory Feedback.

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Abstract:Effective evacuation guidance is essential in emergency situations where individuals must rapidly process navigation cues and make timely decisions. While previous research has explored the effectiveness of individual sensory modalities such as visual, auditory, and haptic feedback, limited attention has been given to their combined effects. This study investigated how combinations of auditory, haptic, and visual feedback influence navigation time, confidence in the navigation system, and perceived level difficulty in a virtual reality (VR) navigation scenario. 18 participants completed navigation tasks in a VR simulation of a building, experiencing three different feedback conditions: auditory & haptic, visual & haptic, and visual & auditory. The results showed significant differences in confidence ratings across conditions, with participants reporting the highest confidence in the auditory and haptic condition. However, no significant differences were found in navigation times or perceived level difficulty between conditions. Qualitative feedback further revealed that participants preferred the auditory-haptic combination for its intuitiveness and ease of use. These findings align with theories of human perception and decision making, suggesting that multimodal feedback enhances both cognitive processing and perceived control, ultimately improving user experience during evacuation. The results emphasize the importance of designing evacuation systems that integrate intuitive and redundant multimodal cues to support effective navigation.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/106962
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