A voice-driven IMU-enabled BIM-based multi-user system for indoor navigation in fire emergencies

Real-time location information between participants is critical but scarcely available during fire emergencies, making response operations solitary and inefficient. To address the issue, this study proposes a system that provides dynamic pathfinding, position tracking, and location sharing to on-site emergency participants via instinctive human-system interactions. The system consists of four modules, namely building information modeling-based indoor route planning, voice-based command processing, inertial sensor-based continuous positioning, and a multi-user sharing environment. The feasibility of the system is assessed by an exploratory user test with a real-world case study. The results show that the system enables participants to track and share locations with others timely and plan a route dynamically for response operations. The results further suggest that the system can potentially provide fundamental techniques to establish new mechanisms for supporting decision-making and enable comparative evaluations on adopted technologies to develop human-centered emergency response systems.

Automated summary

This study proposes a system that provides real-time location information to participants during fire emergencies, improving response operations. Through user testing, it is shown that the system enables participants to track and share locations, and dynamically plan routes for response operations. The system has the potential to provide fundamental techniques for supporting decision-making and evaluating adopted technologies to develop human-centered emergency response systems.