Innovative Natural Disaster Precautionary Methods Through Virtual Space

Abstract

Human–computer interaction is the study of a human and computer interaction in which we analyze and create an interface between the humans and the computer to decide to which extent it is possible to interact with computers which change the way of the usual lifestyle that can evolve the future generations according to the human’s convenience. Virtual reality environments in natural disasters are to train people to overcome or prevent their lives from risky situations. When it comes to natural disasters, people never know when such disasters strike in their daily lives, so it is necessary to be prepared to face such consequences. Though the rescuers are there to save the lives of the people, it is not possible to wait for the rescuers all the time, and the situations may also be even worse than the expected. It becomes highly impossible to take precautionary measures; therefore, after the warning of the disaster, people can prepare themselves to survive such situations without the help of rescuers. Different disasters happen in different landscapes; for example, Tsunami occurs in the sea, floods occur as a temporary disaster that covers the land with water, usually not covered by water, and many other disasters that cause life and damage property. Therefore, with the help of virtual reality simulation, people can be trained according to the scenarios or the natural disaster created by the computer-generated 3D environment where the trainee can interact and perform actions generated based on the scenarios. In the virtual world, provided in the head-mounted display, the user can be trained upon by first instructing what to be done and later, after understanding the situation, the trainee is put into a natural disaster scenario where he performs the precautionary measures that need to be done based on the scenario and prepare accordingly in such situations so that before the arrival of the rescuers, people would be more aware of what measures to be taken and react accordingly in such a way that it reduces the risk of life. The chapter further explains in detail about human–computer interaction (HCI), virtual reality (VR), advantages and disadvantages of virtual reality, various natural disasters, and the role and impact of VR environment in creating awareness and providing precautionary measures for preventing natural disasters.

When it comes to immersive technology and smart cities, it is equally important to make everything smart according to the changing generations and technologies in our day-to-day lives. On the other hand, when dealing with people to make them understand and educate things, we must also enhance teaching and make them feel interested in whatever we impose on them. So, when we give the people a 360-degree view or a three-dimensional view of the scenarios, it helps them experience like they are actually into the scenario to understand and make immediate decisions. The advantage of using such immersive technology is that when errors or misjudgments are made to learn from the mistakes and correct it, it helps them understand the scenario and take spot and efficient decision at the time of disasters which will have a significant impact on rescuing the lives of the people.