Method of providing effective building evacuation routes during dynamically changing and emergent situations

During an emergency, personnel in emergency response departments transmit predetermined emergency broadcast announcements to promote smooth evacuation of the building's occupants. Fire and smoke proof shutters installed in buildings will close automatically or can be closed manually to prevent fire and smoke from spreading. Emergencies are generally not exactly the same as the ones for which the announcements were prepared. It is highly desirable to have announcements change in accordance to match the emergencies for effectively guiding people to safe places. Nowadays, almost everyone has a mobile phone; hence, we propose a guidance system using smartphones that can provide more useful information than traditional guideboards or the predetermined announcements. In this paper, a method that provides effective guidance according to opening-closing of the shutters during emergencies is discussed.