Determining the barriers and opportunities for the integration of extended reality in disaster management using MCDM methods

Abstract

As technology progresses, humans have begun creating virtual entities that transcend physical reality. The integration of technology into everyday life has expanded significantly, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with applications in business, education, and advertising. The advancement of artificial intelligence models is reshaping how people interact with technology on a daily basis. These innovations often require specialized hardware. In this context, the concept of augmented reality has seamlessly merged into our routines, with numerous gaming projects influencing fields such as education and the military, fostering novel concepts through the convergence of virtual and augmented reality. Disasters demand systematic and intelligent solutions due to their inherent complexity. Coupled with population growth, the impact of disasters on individuals has intensified, emphasizing the need for integrated disaster management strategies. These measures encompass damage reduction, planning, preparedness, intervention, and recovery, involving collaboration between communities and decision-makers to enhance societal resilience. To reduce societal vulnerability, it is essential to systematically identify hazards, assess risks, implement appropriate measures, and develop solutions grounded in scientific principles. Technological advancements have the potential to deliver scientific and sustainable solutions to complex challenges. The widespread adoption of technology significantly influences sectors such as education, communication, and awareness, while also improving scientific and engineering solutions. Disaster management, being closely tied to societal dynamics, benefits from an integrated academic and scientific research approach that incorporates social considerations to bolster resilience. Human resources play a pivotal role in disaster management, as addressing large-scale catastrophes requires the cooperation of all stakeholders, whether directly or indirectly affected. Developing inclusive, human-centered solutions that engage broad audiences and facilitate interaction is therefore crucial. The integration of augmented reality technology into disaster management stages has the potential to captivate audiences and raise awareness of critical issues, such as disaster preparedness, by presenting them in compelling ways. This technology can engage society as a whole while fostering innovative approaches in academic and scientific research, as evidenced by the growing literature on the subject. This study aimed to understand the barriers and opportunities in the integration of extended reality (XR) into disaster management. As a result of the systematic literature review, 16 barriers and 16 potentials were identified. The barriers identified as a result of the literature review are: (i) investment uncertainty, (ii) personnel investment, (iii) operational costs, (iv) equipment investment, (v) lack of integration, (vi) difficulty in xix adaptation, (vii) orientation resistance, (viii) behavioral disorder, (ix) privacy concerns, (x) lack of ethical guidelines, (xi) lack of transparency, (xii) lack of legal framework, (xiii) lack of research, (xiv) difficulty of integration, (xv) environmental reflection, (xvi) limited capacity, and categorized into four main categories as financial, behavioral, legal, and technical. The 16 opportunities are: (i) efficient resource use, (ii) financial cooperation, (iii) cost advantage, (iv) low-cost repetitions, (v) performance improvement, (vi) scenario creation, (vii) ensuring collaboration, (viii) efficient training processes, (ix) resilience enhancement, (x) building trust, (xi) knowledge acquisition, (xii) increasing motivation, (xiii) accelerating learning, (xiv) measuring cognitive load, (xv) data collection, (xvi) providing quantitative educational outcomes. Opportunities were also grouped into four main categories: financial, organizational, social, and financial. According to the study's findings, the most important criterion was determined using the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP), based on expert opinions. When the consistency levels were examined, each assessment was found to be consistent at approximately 0.06. In the barriers category, after calculating the geometric mean of the main categories, the most significant factors were identified as financial and technical, followed by legal and cultural influences. Among the barriers, the factors with the greatest importance were integration difficulty, limited capacity, investment uncertainty, and equipment investment, respectively. Upon opportunities were evaluated using the same procedures, the most important main criteria were found to be financial, technical, organizational, and social factors in that order. Out of sixteen potential factors—taking into account the geometric means of these main criteria—those with the highest values were low-cost repetitions, efficient resource utilization, data collection, and accelerated learning. Using the DEMATEL method, cause-and-effect relationships among these factors and their influences on one another were assessed. When examining the main barriers among themselves, financial and cultural factors were identified as causal barriers, while technical and legal factors were determined to be potential negative outcomes of the proposed integration. The most critical factor was the financial category, which had the highest D+R value. According to the total relationship matrix, financial and cultural barriers have a stronger effect on the other barriers. Within the sixteen factors, the primary causes that could hinder the integration of XR applications in disaster management are adaptation difficulty, behavioral disorder, equipment investment, lack of legal framework, and limited capacity. Following these, the next set of potential barriers includes lack of integration, resistance to adoption, personnel investment, operational costs, investment uncertainty, privacy concerns, lack of ethical guidelines, lack of transparency, lack of research, and integration difficulty. When examining the cause-and-effect relationship of opportunities and how strongly they influence one another, the financial factor was identified as a potential cause, while technical, organizational, and social impacts emerged as effects. Based on the D+R values, organizational impacts were found to be the most critical factor. The financial factor strongly affects each criterion and was mapped accordingly using the total relationship matrix. In the context of XR in disaster management, the concepts identified as positive causes include low-cost repetitions (viii), efficient training processes (v), performance enhancement (vi), scenario creation (ix), resilience building (xii), motivation xx enhancement (xiii), accelerated learning (xiv), and cognitive load measurement. Meanwhile, the values regarded as potential positive outcomes are financial collaboration, cost advantages, efficient resource utilization (vii), establishing collaboration (x), trust development (xi), knowledge acquisition (xv), data collection (xvi), and quantitative training outcomes. All criteria results were derived by evaluating each potential within its respective main category. For instance, organizational factors—which appear as "results" in the general group—often function as "causes" within their own context. The multilayered nature of the topic is evident from these findings. According to the results, the topics within the financial cluster have been identified as both an obstacle—requiring measures to address issues like investment uncertainty and equipment financing—and as a strong driving force in terms of repetitive usage and resource efficiency. At the same time, certain technical gaps become apparent in developing the necessary applications to ensure integration. From an organizational perspective, there is strong potential in supporting more efficient training processes and enhancing stakeholders' collaboration and decision-making skills when creating scenarios. When investing in such innovative projects, it should be noted that the financial context can serve as both a significant obstacle and a major opportunity. Additionally, cultural challenges regarding adaptation to these technologies and their level of acceptance must be considered; selecting the appropriate user profile is essential and should be evaluated in terms of the value-cost balance.