Study on the Impact of Evacuation Signage Configuration on Wayfinding Efficiency in Underground Spaces

The development and utilization of underground space in China is developing rapidly, showing the trend of deepening, scale, and compounding, which brings severe challenges to emergency evacuation safety. Evacuation signs are vital to the evacuation route-finding process of people in emergencies. This paper describes an experimental research method of the influence of evacuation signs on emergency evacuation route-finding behavior of people in underground space based on VR technology, and explores the impact of the position and color of evacuation signs on evacuation route-finding efficiency in underground space through empirical experiments. Two experimental control groups were designed, and five virtual scenes were used to test the performance of evacuation route selection and evacuation route length when the signs were located on the ground, in the corner, and at the top, and when the signs adopted three color schemes: green, red and blue. The results show that: 70% of the participants can be guided to the exit through the shortest path by the evacuation sign located in the corner, and the evacuation efficiency reaches 0.84, which is better than the sign located on the ground or at the top. The adoption of green signs is significantly superior to red and blue in the shortest path guiding the rate and efficiency. The study results supplement the basic knowledge of emergency evacuation behavior of underground space occupants and can improve the existing evacuation model of underground space and relevant emergency safety policies.