*Evacuation Guidance Assistance System Using Emitting Sound DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105223*

The average of success rate was 0.970 for all experimental condition, which shows that people were able to identify and follow the sequence of sound in almost all cases. Therefore, there were no significant differences among the sound source, loudspeaker type, and sequence patterns. Even though the success rate of the following is high, the required time is considered as the measure for the difficulty to identify and follow the emitting sound source. In the third experiment, we compared the time required to follow the emitting sound source because the success rate of following the sequences of sound sources was extremely high and no significant difference was observed between the factors.

## *4.3.2 Experimental results with respect to sound sources*

**Figure 10** shows that there was the difference in the required following time between types of sound source and it is slightly longer for swept-sounds than voice. However, the analysis of variance showed no significant difference between them in contrast to the results of the first experiment. The task in experimental trial is identifying and following the sequence of emitting sound. The subject is required to repeatedly perform the sound localization for moving sound on the loudspeaker near own current location in the task. The experimental results that the success rates were extremely high illustrate that the subjects were able to perform the continuous sound localization precisely even though the complexity of the guiding routes were relatively high. Therefore, this result suggests that the proposed guidance system using the emitting sound is effective and feasible to lead the predetermined evacuating route even if the voice was used instead of the swept-sound as the acoustic source.

### *4.3.3 Experimental results with respect to loudspeakers*

**Figure 11** shows the mean of the required time for following the sequence of the emitting sound on two type loudspeakers, the capacitor flat one and the conventional dynamic range one. The required time is shorter in using the dynamic speaker than the capacitor flat speaker. This result suggests that subjects are able to perform sound localization for a sequence of the sounds emitting on the dynamic range speakers more easily than on capacitor flat one, also were able to follow them. Some subjects commented that they could listen to sounds on the dynamic speaker more clearly than the capacitor one. This tendency is obvious for the sounds emitting on speaker far from their current position. In the task of the third experiment subjects were required to repeatedly perform sound localization for the sound source in spatially wide area. The capacitor flat speaker has stronger directionality than the dynamic range one, then the sound emitting on the dynamic range speaker acoustic stimuli spread more widely and was easier to catch up than on the capacitor one. It is reasonable to assume that the difference of the acoustic property between two types of speakers results the difference of the required time to follow.

### *4.3.4 Experimental results of sequence patterns*

**Figure 12** shows a comparison of the required time and the success rates according to the complexity of sequence patterns. There is a little difference in success rates but significant difference (*p* = 0.0013) in the time required to follow the sequences among the complexity levels by the ANOVA considering the within-subject factors. It was confirmed that the required time increased as the number of turning points increased, i.e., as the complexity of the emitting pattern became higher.

The Bonferroni's multiple comparison (comparison count: 10 times) were conducted for the five complex level of sequences after confirming the significant difference. According to the result, there was no significant difference in the required time between the cases of three and four turning points and between four and five turning points. This result suggests that the difficulty of following the pattern increases as the number of turning points increases.

As the number of turning points in the emitting pattern increases, the success rate slightly decreases, and the required time increases as shown in Figure 12. This result suggests that the evacuation performance decreases as the pattern becomes more complicated in the proposed evacuation system.
