반응시간 최소화를 위한 피난구 유도등 제작 및 설치 기준 개발

Abstract

Exit sign lighting promptly and accurately provides the information of evacuation direction. Accordingly, the evacuation performance is increased by shortening the required safe egress time. In addition, the exit sign lighting should be readily recognizable because it is the only equipment that guides humans during an emergency. Many researchers have conducted studies to improve the recognizability of exit sign lighting. However, most research is limited by adopting partial approaches rather than analyzing various factors influencing the recognizability from a comprehensive perspective. Furthermore, majority of international standards for production and installation of exit sign lighting do not include criteria that reflects the interactions between the factors affecting the recognizability of exit sign lighting. This study, therefore, aims to develop the standards for production and installation of exit sign lighting which reflects the interactions between the factors affecting the recognizability of exit sign lighting, thus improving the recognizability of exit sign lighting. In this study, the following four major factors were selected and analyzed among various factors affecting the recognizability of exit sign lighting: 1. the size of exit sign lighting, 2. the combination of graphical symbol colours of exit sign lighting, 3. the composition of pictograms of the exit sign lighting, and 4. the installation location of exit sign lighting. Moreover, human reaction time was used to quantitatively evaluate the recognizability of exit sign lighting. Human reaction time refers to the time required from the moment that a visual stimulus of exit sign lighting is presented to the participant to the moment that the participant recognizes the exit sign lighting. Using the human reaction time, a quantitative value of time can be measured for a series of processes in which a participant observes exit sign lighting, understands the information that the exit sign lighting conveys, and makes a decision based on the perceived information. The experiment was carried out by building a double-loaded corridor type space having a height of 2,600㎜, a width of 2,400㎜, and a length of 30,000㎜ in virtual reality. Factorial design was performed based on the four factors affecting human reaction time on exit sign lighting in order to create the image of exit sign lighting, with various observation distances, 10m, 20m, and 30m, from the participants. When the image was presented to the participants, the recognition of exit sign lighting was expressed by keystrokes, and human reaction time was measured accordingly. The shorter the reaction time, the better was the recognizability of exit sign lighting. The standards for production and installation of exit sign lighting deduced by reflecting the interactions between the factors affecting human response time are as follows. The human reaction time is shortest when one-side length of a square exit sign lighting is at least 255㎜, the combination of graphical symbol colour representing safety is green, the background colour is white, the pictogram is in the shape of a running man, which is commonly used in exit sign lighting in South Korea, and the installation location of exit sign lighting is 1,900㎜ from the ground. Compared to the exit sign lighting that is currently used in South Korea, the design of exit sign lighting deduced in this study reduced the human reaction time by approximately 6.3% at 10m, 6.9% at 20m, and 17.1% at 30m. Through the standards for production and installation of exit sign lighting derived in this study, the following effects can be expected. Exit sign lighting can be installed after considering the size of the building. The current standard for production and installation of exit sign lighting is determined by the use of space is installed. Accordingly, the exit sign lighting can be uniformly installed without reflecting the characteristics of the space. Furthermore, the data generated in this study from the general population in South Korea can be utilized as the foundational data of the standard for the development and installation of exit sign lighting in South Korea. Because most current standards for development and installation of exit sign lighting in South Korea are reproduced from the international standards, they cannot accurately reflect the physical characteristics of the Korean population and the building characteristics of Korea. Therefore, the data generated in this study can be used to secure the credibility of the standard for the development and installation of exit sign lighting in South Korea.