Browsing by Author "Manfredi, Gilda"

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    A Mixed Reality Application for Multi-Floor Building Evacuation Drills using Real-Time Pathfinding and Dynamic 3D Modeling
    (The Eurographics Association, 2024) Manfredi, Gilda; Capece, Nicola; Carlo, Rosario Pio Di; Erra, Ugo; Caputo, Ariel; Garro, Valeria; Giachetti, Andrea; Castellani, Umberto; Dulecha, Tinsae Gebrechristos
    In modern high-rise buildings, complex layouts and frequent structural changes often hinder emergency evacuation. Traditional evacuation plans, usually 2D diagrams, do not provide real-time guidance and are difficult for occupants to interpret. We propose a Mixed Reality (MR) application to address these challenges in real-time evacuation in multi-floor buildings. This application was developed on Meta Quest 3, chosen for its status as one of the best low-cost eXtended Reality (XR) headsets and a popular standalone Head-Mounted Display (HMD). Our system allows users to rapidly rescan and update building models, ensuring that evacuation guidance is always up-to-date. The proposed approach overcomes the Meta Quest 3 API's limitation of scanning only 15 rooms. It extends its capability by saving room data externally and using spatial anchors to maintain accurate alignment with the physical environment. Additionally, the application integrates Dijkstra's algorithm to dynamically calculate optimal escape routes based on the user's real-time location. A preliminary evaluation study demonstrates the application's effectiveness in enhancing situational awareness and enabling users to stay mentally sharp, highlighting its potential to improve decision-making and emergency response in dynamic building environments significantly.