AI Emergency Guidance for Adaptive High-Rise Egress
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building occupants, particularly in high-rise structures, lack effective training and guidance to safely egress during emergencies, often leading to chaotic and irrational responses due to stress and uncertainty, which can compromise safety.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing augmented, virtual, and extended reality training models, combined with AI and predictive analytics, provides personalized emergency response training and real-time guidance through wearable devices and building-integrated sensors to enhance situational awareness and decision-making during emergencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional fire escape plans are implemented without advanced training, then basic egress procedures are established, but occupants experience chaos and stress during emergencies leading to irrational responses
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements virtual reality training simulations before actual emergencies occur, allowing occupants to practice egress procedures in a controlled environment. This preliminary training reduces stress and improves decision-making during real emergencies by pre-acclimating occupants to emergency scenarios and proper responses.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to occupants during emergencies through wearable devices, guiding them along optimal egress paths and adjusting instructions based on their location and the evolving fire conditions. This continuous feedback loop helps occupants make informed decisions rather than responding irrationally to stress.
2Reliability
If occupants are required to stay in place during emergency, then safety may be improved in certain scenarios, but occupants become uncomfortable and may resist the plan
Solution Approach 1:
The VR training system exposes occupants to various emergency scenarios including situations where staying in place is the safest option. By experiencing these scenarios in a controlled virtual environment, occupants become comfortable with and accept stay-in-place protocols when appropriate, understanding the rationale behind these decisions before they face real emergencies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts egress instructions based on real-time fire conditions, occupant location, and building status. Rather than enforcing a rigid stay-in-place or evacuate-all protocol, the system provides adaptive guidance that changes as conditions evolve, allowing occupants to understand that safety decisions are context-dependent and professionally managed.
3Ease of manufacture
If building materials use composite materials instead of real wood, then construction flexibility is improved, but fire spread occurs more quickly reducing escape time
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates multiple egress strategies and optimal escape paths during normal operations, taking into account the specific fire characteristics of composite materials used in the building. When a fire occurs, this pre-prepared information enables immediate activation of the fastest safe egress routes without delay for pathfinding or decision-making during the critical early minutes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors fire conditions and dynamically updates egress instructions in real-time, adjusting escape paths as the fire spreads through the composite materials. This dynamic adaptation allows occupants to follow the optimal escape route at each moment, maximizing the use of available escape time as conditions change during the emergency.
4Device complexity
If high-rise buildings have limited escape routes through elevators, stairwells, or windows, then building structure is simplified, but escape options are reduced increasing danger
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically evaluates all available escape routes (elevators, stairwells, windows) in real-time and provides adaptive guidance based on current fire conditions, occupant location, and route safety. This dynamic optimization allows the simplified physical structure to function effectively by intelligently managing the limited routes available, directing occupants to the safest option at each moment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the status of each escape route and provides real-time feedback to occupants through wearable devices, indicating which routes are safe, compromised, or blocked. This feedback mechanism maximizes the utility of limited escape routes by ensuring occupants are directed to safe paths and warned about dangerous ones, effectively compensating for the reduced number of physical escape options.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed technology provides for generating simulation training models that can be used to prepare people (i.e., building occupants, first responders) to safely and calmly respond to emergencies, such as fires in high-rise buildings. Using the training models, people can better cope with decision-making during emergencies. The disclosed technology also uses signaling devices, wearables, and other devices and sensors distributed throughout a building to provide egress or stay-in-place guidance to people located in the building during an emergency. Audio and/or visual information can be outputted to people to guide them along a safe pathway that is selected to provide safe egress for the person, including anticipating and protecting the person from changing emergency conditions within the building and in response to how the person responded to the simulation training models.