FIRE SAFTY QUEST

Design an effective and inclusive fire safety education program using VR technology, tailored specifically for international students in Australia, to enhance their understanding and response capabilities in fire emergencies.

Roles

I assumed the following roles designing this app along with three other classmates:

• User Experience (UX) Designer

• Interaction (IxD) Designer

• User Interface (UI) Designer

• 3D Game Designer

• Scene Designer

Game Design:

High-fidelity fully interactive VR game for Android and iOS, supported by Google Cardboard plug-in.

UX/UI Design:

· Competitive analysis

· User surveys and one-on-one interviews

· Personas

· User journeys and task flows

· Low-fidelity interface

· High-fidelity prototypes

· Usability tests and findings

Project Specifications

Duration: 10 weeks

Tools:

· Figma

· 3ds Max

· Rhino

· Photoshop

· Unity

· Visual Studio

·After Effects

Background

International students, who constitute 26% of all tertiary enrollments in Australia, are at a higher risk for fire-related incidents. This risk manifests in various forms, including property damage, injuries, and psychological trauma. The focus of this research is to address the question:

Goal

The primary aim of this project is to identify gaps in current fire safety education programs for international students in Australian tertiary educational institutions. Upon identifying these gaps, the project will proceed to the conceptualization and creation of a functional VR prototype aimed at delivering a more effective and inclusive fire safety education. The VR platform will be designed to be both engaging and scalable, tailored to meet the unique needs and challenges faced by this diverse student population.

Problem

"How can fire safety education programs be redesigned to be more effective and inclusive for international students in Australia using VR technology?"

Background Research

Fire Safety for International Students

In Australia, international students are often pushed into less regulated housing due to high living costs and tuition fees, compromising their fire safety . This is exacerbated by a competitive housing market and the growing number of international students. Additionally, gaps in existing regulations like the Residential Tenancies (RT) Act further weaken fire safety measures for these students. These market and legislative issues underscore the need for targeted fire safety education programs.

Current Fire Safety Education's Inefficiency

The current fire safety education methods are not practical for large-scale use. Conversely, passive methods are scalable but may lack engagement, a concern amplified for international students who often face language and cultural barriers .

Advantage of VR Application

VR offers a safe, cost-effective, and immersive platform for fire safety training through serious games. Its realistic simulations eliminate the risks associated with live exercises, while its engaging nature enhances learning effectiveness in the form of serious game. This makes VR a promising avenue for inclusive and scalable fire safety education, especially for international students in Australia.

Small Scale

Training based on portable fire-fighting equipment, where participants are given different types and causes of fire and asked to utilize the appropriate equipment and perform as directed.

VR Fire Safety Education Game on the Market

There are three basic topics in the VR fire safety simulators that are now available on the market.

Market Analysis

Effictiveness of Fire Safety Education

Fire safety education typically falls into two categories: active and passive methods. Active methods, which include hands-on training and live demonstrations, are effective but resource-intensive, making them less scalable for large, diverse student populations like international students in Australia. On the other hand, passive methods like brochures and online resources are easier to distribute but may lack engagement, particularly for international students who might face language barriers or unfamiliarity with Australian fire safety protocols.

Middle Scale

Training takes place in a hotel room, office, factory, kitchen, or warehouse, where the user is presented with a set-up and asked to do specific duties.

Large Scale

Training takes place in a complex interior location, such as a corridor, and participants are instructed to activate the fire alarm and evacuate.

Target User

We're targeting international students aged 18-25. Most have some fire education from school or work and have experienced VR, mainly for entertainment. Despite prior fire training, many feel unprepared for real emergencies, hinting at language and cultural challenges. Essentially, these young students are tech-savvy but need enhanced, immersive fire education to boost their response skills.

Concept:

Fire Safety Lab VR is designed to teach users about types of fires, danger factors, and the use of fire safety equipment. The program offers three modules: a base tutorial for VR basics, scenarios to practice emergency actions, and an examination module to test knowledge in emergency situations.

Analysis:

Despite minor technical issues and the potential for practical training, users praise its realism in comparison to other cartoon-like games and express gratitude for the preparation it provides for dealing with fire emergencies.

Concept:

Provides an immersive, dynamic fire safety training solution that includes a wide range of scenarios, a configurable blended learning platform, and a strong emphasis on enhancing organizational safety and compliance, with a proven efficacy rate of 95% when using fire extinguishers appropriately.

Analysis:

The school's fire safety scenarios only involving school buses and laboratory fires, are severely lacking in depth and fail to adequately prepare students for real-life emergencies, with a narrow focus on extinguishing fires rather than addressing comprehensive safety protocols and situational awareness.

CASE STUDY 2: Workplace Safety: FIRE. The end-to-end

solution for fire safety training.

Questionaire and Interview

VR Familiarity:

A significant majority have used VR, primarily for gaming. This suggests that the target audience is tech-savvy and open to using VR for educational purposes. Integrating game-like elements into the VR fire education program might increase engagement and retention.

VR's Potential in Fire Education:

The majority find the idea of VR for fire education helpful or very helpful, indicating a positive reception to such an initiative. However, the content should be carefully curated to ensure it's not too distressing, given the concerns about realism and psychological impact.

Content Preferences:

Duration and Location:

Most respondents prefer shorter VR sessions (5-10 minutes), indicating that bite-sized, focused modules might be more effective than longer sessions. The preference for experiencing VR fire education in schools suggests that universities and educational institutions could be ideal places to introduce such programs.

Continuous Learning:

The frequency with which respondents receive fire education suggests a need for regular updates and refresher courses. This could be facilitated through VR, offering periodic updates or new scenarios to keep knowledge current.

CASE STUDY 1: Fire Safety Lab VR

Platform: Steam

Released: 7 May, 2020

Creator: IMP Studio

Price: $ 22.95

Creator: Flaim

Released: 2017

Price: to business

User Needs

Real Experience with Fire Education:

Users value real or VR-simulated fire experiences for heightened awareness.
High interest in VR's immersive capabilities.

VR Experience Depth & Safety:

The desire for realistic yet psychologically safe VR fire scenarios.
Preference for collaborative simulations and educational videos.

Practical vs. Theoretical Fire Education:

Emphasis on hands-on practice over mere theory.
Need for guidance on quick, correct responses in varied fire scenarios.

Fire Education Genre & Venues:

Simulates multiple fire scenarios to provide hands-on experience.
Preference for VR sessions in schools and public places.

Language Concerns in Emergencies:

Concerns about language barriers affecting fire response.
Need for simple, multilingual guidance.

Fire Education Duration & Diversity:

Preferred VR session length: 5-20 minutes.
Desire for varied content, from storylines to real-case simulations.

Define

Design Objectives

Our game aims to provide immersive learning in fire safety through real-life scenarios and interactive elements for high student engagement, while also focusing on cultural inclusivity and an intuitive interface for diverse users and long-term knowledge retention. Its effectiveness will be measured by tracking player actions to assess their understanding and application of fire safety rules and procedures.

User Experience (UIUX)

Immersive Interface: We prioritize player immersion using diegetic UI elements, seamlessly integrating interactive cues within the game environment.
Clear Guidance: Essential information is provided through non-diegetic UI, offering clear instructions without breaking immersion.
Inclusive Design: Catering to international students, we ensure multi-language support and intuitive iconography for broad accessibility.

User Persona

The Persona character represents students with gaps in practical fire education, high acceptance of technology like VR, diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, varied educational needs, and a role in promoting social responsibility and community safety through effective fire education.

Story Board

The VR game comprises two levels, each designed to educate players on fire safety.

Level 1: Apartment

The apartment setting is more intricate. Players face fires where water isn't the solution; they might need to use extinguishers or cover a flaming pan. Crucially, players must assess the fire's severity, deciding whether to evacuate immediately or save personal belongings. This level aims to teach players to make informed decisions during fires, ensuring their safety and property protection.

Level 2: School Library

Players start in a school library filled with flammable materials like paper and books, where fires can spread rapidly. Additionally, electronics like computers can be potential fire sources. The primary objective is to swiftly locate the nearest fire exit and escape, experiencing the speed of fire spread. Here, players learn basic fire response skills, such as reading fire exit maps and avoiding smoke inhalation.

Design Refinement

User Interface Design

Throughout the game, the player will face numerous challenges, some of which are obvious, such as smoke colour, fire scale, and objects in fire, which will appear as diegetic, while others are not easily perceived, such as time elapse, sensible temperature, and character wellness, which will appear as diegetic in the user interface. Meanwhile, the player will have many decisions, but the decisions will vary depending on the situation. The user interface will include icons for obvious decisions such as covering the mouth with a wet towel and body posture. As for sophisticated judgment with more supplemental situations, such as selecting the appropriate instrument for putting out the fire and deciding whether to put out the fire or escape.

Icons that will always appear on the screen: Icons that will always appear on the net: home icon healthy (bar with colour), and heat (bar with colour) and will cause vibrate in the device when critical.
Icons that will appear on the screen for some situations: body posture (stand, bow, crawl), time countdown, and mouth covering, among others.
Pop-ups will appear on the screen for some situations: assessing the fire's origin, techniques for putting out the fire, whether to run or put out the fire, communicating with another person (limited options), and taking a closer look at the floor plan, among others.

User Testing on Plot and UI

User Testing Summary

Objective: Assessing the final storyboard version, detailing the player's journey, VR scenes, and game mechanics.
Participant Demographics: Targeted five college students for testing.
Methods: Utilized Think Aloud, IPQ Questionnaire, and Short Interview techniques.
Focus: Focused on understanding of the plot, realism of scenes, educational significance, and anticipated user engagement.

Result on Plot Design

From the Short Interview, participants appreciated the VR fire education concept as innovative, highlighted memorable scenes, and expressed a mix of tension and excitement; they found the game entertaining and recommended adding more educational and interactive content, with suggestions for a more free-form approach. Regular VR users desired more engaging experiences, and there was anticipation for a school-mandated version with quick immersion and richer scenes.

Result on User Interface Design

Users are asked to evaluate the efficiency of various methods of engagement and rank their preferences.

Feedback on Diagetic / Nondiegetic Interface 1

The user prefered diegetic feedback (visible lifebar) to nondiegetic feedback (screen becoming red / black and more smoke).

Feedback on Diagetic / Nondiegetic Interface 2

The user prefered diegetic feedback for visible interactive objents, and nondiegetic feedback for cases where more information is provided

Plot Refinement

Scenario 1: Apartment (level1-3) In a typical small apartment setting, users will take on the responsibility of extinguishing a simulated fire, whether it originates from the stove or an electrical appliance. The VR program will track the time taken by the user to put out the fire, providing instant feedback. Furthermore, users will receive a series of fire safety tips and reminders throughout the scenario, enhancing their knowledge and awareness of fire safety practices.

Scenario 2: Fisher Library at the University of Sydney (level4-5) In this scenario, users will learn necessary safety evacuation knowledge and skills within the complex layout of the Fisher Library. The scenario is designed to test users' decision-making abilities in fire safety and evacuation, challenging them to apply what they have learned in a high-pressure situation.