Sicur 08: Exit Point: The Sound of Safety

Sicur 08: In an emergency evacuation, people often trust their senses, particularly their sight and their memory. However, in situations of crisis or stress, confusion and bewilderment become apparent. The smoke, dust, the disorder and the visual chaos may make it difficult or even impossible to see.

The EXIT POINT solution presented by Honeywell's Notifier gives evacuees an important advantage. As opposed to traditional systems, EXIT POINT does more than warning about an emergency situation. The directional sound technology uses easily recognisable sound signals that identify the exit route, guiding the occupants to the exit or safe zone.
In most buildings, the exit routes are identified by visual means, exit signs. All signs immediately become dark even with small amounts of smoke. The exits can also be difficult to find in areas with many visual obstacles, such as airports or shopping centres. An obvious solution is the use of a sound which people can hear perfectly well even through smoke.
If the sound is used to identify the exits, it is vital for the people to instantly be able to accurately identify where the sound is coming from - in other words, directional sound. To be directional, the sound must be composed of broad band2, containing most of the frequencies within the human hearing range.  One of the most frightening experiences is feeling lost and disorientated. Becoming truly disorientated may be relatively rare, but it may happen to any of us at any time.
As someone who has recently arrived at a building that is not known, anyone can experience a certain degree of stress or anxiety that progressively increases as the feeling of disorientation grows. As time goes by, however, looking at the signs, asking others the way and exploring the surroundings, the person will be able to move around efficiently. None of us, however, are completely familiarised with all our surroundings. Many behavioural studies have repeatedly shown that one of the most natural instincts in the case of fire is for people to evacuate the building using the same route they entered it by.
This is rarely the quickest or the most suitable route. Many people do not manage to find the nearest exits and in some case they walk in a straight line, passing by the visible fire exits. The repercussions of these effects are severe. Assuming that sight is our primary method for perceiving our surrounding (83% of what someone learns is through the eyes), it is not surprising that this large amount of emergency exit aids, such as emergency lighting, signs, wall colourings and door codes and photo luminescent guidance bands are solely visual.