Agent-Based Modeling of Emergency Evacuations Considering Human Panic Behavior

Authored by Ashutosh Trivedi, Shrisha Rao

Date Published: 2018

DOI: 10.1109/tcss.2017.2783332

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: Java MASON

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

During mass evacuations, many psychological and physical factors are responsible for stampedes and other life threatening situations. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of these factors are of high importance while devising optimal strategies for evacuations. In this paper, we present an agent-based model that considers psychological and physical factors that cause panic in such situations. We have also simulated some simple evacuation scenarios and presented a method to identify possible bottlenecks and shortcomings in the environments during emergency evacuations. Our method also helps in evaluation and analysis of different evacuation strategies. To enable this analysis, we have used a rule-based roadmap approach, where critical nodes in the environment are identified by the evacuation planner and each node has a special rule according to the strategy of the planner. We evaluate different strategies on parameters, such as evacuation time and physical discomfort caused to the agents.
Tags
Simulation Agent-based modeling Dynamics pedestrian evacuation Emergency evacuation Egress Panic