TECNALIA is looking for collaboration in a scientific study, led by the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath, to measure people’s reaction time to evacuation messages during emergency situations linked to transport infrastructures.
The FORESEE initiative, coordinated by TECNALIA’s Infrastructure division, develops tools and methodologies to improve the resilience of transport infrastructure networks to extreme natural events such as earthquakes, floods and landslides, or events caused by humans such as fires, accidents and cyber-attacks.
The results of the study will be used to simulate evacuation times and the dynamic evolution of fires and floods. To achieve this, TECNALIA is seeking collaboration and participation in the study as part of the FORESEE initiative. The ultimate goal is to adapt the current contingency plans towards a more dynamic approach that takes the evolution of the threat into account.
COVID-19 has made it impossible to conduct trials with people in real settings, which is why TECNALIA is launching an online study in different European languages: German, French, English, Spanish and Basque. The information obtained will help us to measure people's ability to complete tasks that require sustained attention by measuring reaction times and accuracy of responses to instructions.
Tasks to be undertaken in the survey
The online survey will not collect any personal information. Data will be completely anonymous and will not be used or passed on to third parties. Users are required to complete a simple 10-minute task, which requires sustained attention as it is supposed to be as it would be under exceptional emergency circumstances.
They are not allowed to use postal mail, e-mail, make phone calls, use WhatsApp or similar. They will be prompted to respond to the instructions using the keyboard and mouse of their computer. Participants will see successive images on the screen and listen to audio recordings.
Further information
- The range of solutions provided by FORESEE to deal with these extreme events is aimed at anticipating, minimising, absorbing, adapting the transport network and/or rapidly restoring the expected level of safety and service in transport infrastructures.
- The results of the FORESEE initiative are being validated on the A24 Motorway (Italy), A16 Motorway (Italy), A67 Motorway - Montabliz Viaduct (Spain), High Speed Line 6185 (Oebisfelde-Berlin Spandau) (Germany), M-30 Madrid ring road (Spain) and 25th of April Bridge (Portugal).
- This project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 769373.
