| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/M69326/01 |
| Title: |
THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUDITORY NAVIGATION BEACON FOR BUILDING EMERGENCY EGRESS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Wittington, Professor D |
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| Department: |
School of Biomedical Sciences |
| Organisation: |
University of Leeds |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 June 1999 |
Ends: |
31 May 2002 |
Value (£): |
196,141
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Building Ops & Management |
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| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The overall aim of this research is to design, develop and assess the impact of which an audition based navigation beacon would have in enabling fast, efficient emergency evacuation for all possible users of a building. The sounding of these beacons will guide users to the nearest and safest emergency exit. The proposed system addresses an imbalance in visually oriented escape means in current building practice which, under emergency situations can be ineffective in pointing a clear escape path. Additionally, such visual means are useless to many users, such as those with visual impairments. The proposed system therefore addresses the needs of the end user, helping them to feel more confident and safe in the built environment when an emergency situation arises. The approach taken involves the use of predictive virtual acoustic techniques in order to design and evaluate the effectiveness of these beacons. Pre and post video assessments of subject's behaviour, questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews will be taken, with criteria such as efficiency of use, perception and confidence evaluated in order to assess the effectiveness of the system. The RNIB will provide important input into the project.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.leeds.ac.uk |