Automated generation of geometrically-precise and semantically-informed virtual geographic environnements populated with spatially-reasoning agents

La Géo-Simulation Multi-Agent (GSMA) est un paradigme de modélisation et de simulation de phénomènes dynamiques dans une variété de domaines d'applications tels que le domaine du transport, le domaine des télécommunications, le domaine environnemental, etc. La GSMA est utilisée pour étudier et analyser des phénomènes qui mettent en jeu un grand nombre d'acteurs simulés (implémentés par des agents) qui évoluent et interagissent avec une représentation explicite de l'espace qu'on appelle Environnement Géographique Virtuel (EGV). Afin de pouvoir interagir avec son environnement géographique qui peut être dynamique, complexe et étendu (à grande échelle), un agent doit d'abord disposer d'une représentation détaillée de ce dernier. Les EGV classiques se limitent généralement à une représentation géométrique du monde réel laissant de côté les informations topologiques et sémantiques qui le caractérisent. Ceci a pour conséquence d'une part de produire des simulations multi-agents non plausibles, et, d'autre part, de réduire les capacités de raisonnement spatial des agents situés. La planification de chemin est un exemple typique de raisonnement spatial dont un agent pourrait avoir besoin dans une GSMA. Les approches classiques de planification de chemin se limitent à calculer un chemin qui lie deux positions situées dans l'espace et qui soit sans obstacle. Ces approches ne prennent pas en compte les caractéristiques de l'environnement (topologiques et sémantiques), ni celles des agents (types et capacités). Les agents situés ne possèdent donc pas de moyens leur permettant d'acquérir les connaissances nécessaires sur l'environnement virtuel pour pouvoir prendre une décision spatiale informée. Pour répondre à ces limites, nous proposons une nouvelle approche pour générer automatiquement des Environnements Géographiques Virtuels Informés (EGVI) en utilisant les données fournies par les Systèmes d'Information Géographique (SIG) enrichies par des informations sémantiques pour produire des GSMA précises et plus réalistes. De plus, nous présentons un algorithme de planification hiérarchique de chemin qui tire avantage de la description enrichie et optimisée de l'EGVI pour fournir aux agents un chemin qui tient compte à la fois des caractéristiques de leur environnement virtuel et de leurs types et capacités. Finalement, nous proposons une approche pour la gestion des connaissances sur l'environnement virtuel qui vise à supporter la prise de décision informée et le raisonnement spatial des agents situés

A Conceptual Model of Exploration Wayfinding: An Integrated Theoretical Framework and Computational Methodology

This thesis is an attempt to integrate contending cognitive approaches to modeling wayfinding behavior. The primary goal is to create a plausible model for exploration tasks within indoor environments. This conceptual model can be extended for practical applications in the design, planning, and Social sciences. Using empirical evidence a cognitive schema is designed that accounts for perceptual and behavioral preferences in pedestrian navigation. Using this created schema, as a guiding framework, the use of network analysis and space syntax act as a computational methods to simulate human exploration wayfinding in unfamiliar indoor environments. The conceptual model provided is then implemented in two ways. First of which is by updating an existing agent-based modeling software directly. The second means of deploying the model is using a spatial interaction model that distributed visual attraction and movement permeability across a graph-representation of building floor plans

Navigating complex buildings: cognition, neuroscience and architectural design

This paper is in two sections, the first section presents a review of recent research in the areas of neuroscience, cognitive science and architecture with particular respect to what is currently understood about how buildingusers find their way around complex buildings. It goes on to define four areas of promising, potential future research located on the boundaries between these three disciplines, these being: spatial knowledge acquisition, orientation, multilevel environments and environment intelligibility. In the second half of the paper, it suggests how such current research and/or any future program of research could be used to aid architects in the design of new buildings. One such method suggested is the creation of designguidelines or heuristics based upon research into navigation and wayfinding. The paper concludes with an example list of eight sample guidelines

Space and Time Constrained Task Scheduling for Crowd Simulation

Crowd simulation, through the generation of realistic pedestrian ows and densities, has a great potential as a validation tool for urban planning or design of public buildings. In macroscopic simulations approaches, agents are modelled such as their behaviour mimics human's one in similar situations. As a consequence, realistic macroscopic phenomena are expected to emerge from the sum of all agents decisions. When performing an intended activity, people decisions and behaviour mainly consist in scheduling tasks that compose this activity, planning paths between locations where these tasks should be performed, navigating along the planned paths and performing the scheduled tasks. In this paper, we focus on the task scheduling process. This task scheduling process aims at selecting where, when and in which order several tasks, representing the intended activity, should be performed. The proposed model handles spatial and temporal constraints relating to the environment and to the agent itself. Personal preferences, characterizing the agent, are also taken into account. Produced task schedules are optimized on the long term and exhibit adequate choices of locations and times with respect to the agent intended activity and its environment. We conducted an experiment that shows that our algorithm produces task schedules which are representative of human's ones. Once computed, these task schedules are relaxed and used to drive a microscopic crowd simulation in which observable ows of pedestrians emerge from the scheduled individual activities. Such simulations are easy to produce and do not require the use of a complex decisional model.La simulation de foule, à travers la génération de flux et de densités de piétons réalistes, possède un grand potentiel en tant qu'outil de validation d'aménagements urbains. Les approches microscopiques visent à modéliser des agents virtuels dont le comportement imite celui d'humains se trouvant dans des situations similaires. En conséquence, l'apparition de phénomènes macroscopiques doit résulter de la somme des décisions des agents. Les décisions et comportements des personnes effectuant une activité consistent principalement à ordonnancer les tâches qui constituent cette dernière, planifier des chemins entre les lieux où les tâches doivent être effectuées, naviguer le long de ces chemins et effectuer ces tâches. Dans cet article, nous nous focalisons sur le processus d'ordonnancement de tâches. Ce processus vise à sélectionner où, quand et dans quel ordre des tâches, représentant une activité désirée, doivent être effectuées. Le modèle proposé gère les contraintes temporelles et spatiales associées à l'environnement et à l'agent lui-même ainsi que les préférences personnelles qui caractérisent l'agent. Les ordonnancements de tâches calculés sont optimisés sur la durée et démontrent des choix de lieux et d'horaires en adéquation avec l'activité de l'agent et son environnement. Nous avons effectué une expérience qui a démontré que notre algorithme produit des ordonnancements de tâches représentatifs de ceux effectuées par des humains. Après une phase de relaxation des contraintes temporelles associées à l'ordonnancement, ce dernier est utilisé pour diriger un modèle microscopique de simulation de foule. Des flots et densités de piétons réalistes émergent des activités individuelles. Ces simulations sont aisées à produire et ne nécessitent pas d'utiliser de modèle décisionnel complexe, permettant ainsi de peupler rapidement et de manière réaliste des environnements complexes

City Tells:

City Tells. Guidelines to an Emotional Wayfinding System were developed to provide wayfinding information to visitors walking through historic environments and to ensure that unknown urban places become more welcoming, easier to navigate and more enjoyable for both visitors and tourists

Smart Geographic object: Toward a new understanding of GIS Technology in Ubiquitous Computing

One of the fundamental aspects of ubiquitous computing is the instrumentation of the real world by smart devices. This instrumentation constitutes an opportunity to rethink the interactions between human beings and their environment on the one hand, and between the components of this environment on the other. In this paper we discuss what this understanding of ubiquitous computing can bring to geographic science and particularly to GIS technology. Our main idea is the instrumentation of the geographic environment through the instrumentation of geographic objects composing it. And then investigate how this instrumentation can meet the current limitations of GIS technology, and offers a new stage of rapprochement between the earth and its abstraction. As result, the current research work proposes a new concept we named Smart Geographic Object SGO. The latter is a convergence point between the smart objects and geographic objects, two concepts appertaining respectively to

Information needs along the journey chain: users’ perspective about bus system

Buses constitute the main public transport mode in most cities of the world. Accessible Bus Systems are defined as systems that are easy to use. However accessible the infrastructure may be, it is unlikely to provide access if people cannot know about it. Therefore it is essential to have comprehensive and accessible information systems which describe the bus systems during all the stages of the journey. There is a widespread understanding amongst researchers that Information Systems can increase the efficiency of the system and that they should be oriented to meet bus users’ needs. However, existing information systems largely ignore the user’s point of view, in special the requirement of the disabled users. This thesis describes a methodology developed to investigate the problem of using information during a journey by bus in real conditions taking into account the (un)familiarity of the area in study and the individual’s previous knowledge of information system. Two main aspects are identified — the “Required Environment Capability” (the physical, social and psychological environment conditions) and the “Individual Capability Provided” (the individual ability in physical, sensorial and cognitive terms) to plan and execute a journey by bus in an unfamiliar environment. Because of the multidisciplinary aspect of the theme this study uses approaches from different fields of research to construct a methodology to understand individual information use. Based on the principles of Single Case Analysis adapted by adding the concept of the Capabilities Model (CM) (which explores interactions between individual and environment), the combined SCA/CM approach was employed to construct the INFOChain experiment. A set of information pieces were developed for the experiment, delivering Accessibility- Issues (AI-type) information in order to help older people to plan and execute different bus journeys in two different cities: London/UK and Brasilia/BR. General results have shown that although the AI-Type of information is considered important by older people, it needs more than simple expositions to actually take advantages of the information and be able to help disabled users

Multi-scale Pedestrian Navigation and Movement in Urban Areas

Sustainable transport planning highlights the importance of walking to low-carbon and healthy urban transport systems. Studies have identified multiple ways in which vehicle traffic can negatively impact pedestrians and inhibit walking intentions. However, pedestrian-vehicle interactions are underrepresented in models of pedestrian mobility. This omission limits the ability of transport simulations to support pedestrian-centric street design. Pedestrian navigation decisions take place simultaneously at multiple spatial scales. Yet most models of pedestrian behaviour focus either on local physical interactions or optimisation of routes across a road network. This thesis presents a novel hierarchical pedestrian route choice framework that integrates dynamic, perceptual decisions at the street level with abstract, network based decisions at the neighbourhood level. The framework is based on Construal Level Theory which states that decision makers construe decisions based on their psychological distance from the object of the decision. The route choice framework is implemented in a spatial agent-based simulation in which pedestrian and vehicle agents complete trips in an urban environment. Global sensitivity analysis is used to explore the behaviour produced by the multi-scale pedestrian route choice model. Finally, simulation experiments are used to explore the impacts of restrictions to pedestrian movement. The results demonstrate the potential insights that can be gained by linking street scale movement and interactions with neighbourhood level mobility patterns

On the relation between body and movement space representation: an experimental investigation on spinal cord injured people

Body Representation (BR) and Movement Space Perception (MSP) are fundamental for human beings in order to move in space and interact with object s and other people. Both BR and space representation change after spinal cord injuries in complete paraplegic individuals (CPP), who suffer from lower limbs paralysis and anesthesia. To date, the interaction between BR and MSP in paraplegic individuals rem ains unexplored. In two consecutive experiments, we tested I ) if the individual\u2019s wheelchair is embodied in BR; and ii) if the embodied wheelchair modifies the MSP. For the first question a speeded detection task was used. Participants had to respond to v isual stimuli flashing on their trunk, legs or wheelchair. In three counterbalanced conditions across participant, they took part to the experiment while: 1) sitting in their wheelchair, 2) in another wheelchair, or 3) with the LEDs on a wooden bar. To in dicate the embodiment, there was no difference in the CPP\u2019s responses for LEDs on the body and personal wheelchair while these were slower in other conditions After this, while sitting in their or another wheelchair, CPPs were asked to judge the slope of a ramp rendered in immersive virtual reality and to estimate the distance of a flag positioned over the ramp. When on their own wheelchair, CPPs perceived the flag closer than in the other wheelchair. These results indicate that the continuous use of a too l induces embodiment and that this i mpact on the perception of MSP

Are pedestrian path choices during exploration contingent on measures of shape complexity and visual content of the environment?

This thesis investigates pedestrians' path choices when confronted with a decision point in a novel environment. The two main research foci were how different testing setups of virtual environment (VE) affect pedestrian path choice behaviour, and how the visual characteristics of Shape Complexity (SC) and Visual Content (VC) affect pedestrian path choice behaviour. Two VE testing setups were tested: the type of VE environment and the sampling method. Both were found to have a medium effect on pedestrian path choices. Photorealistic Print VE and Quick Time Virtual Reality (QTVR) VE had an effect on the choices participants made. Testing in a group setting was also found to produce different results than in individual testing. SC and VC have a significant role on pedestrian path selection. Overall, we compared behaviours in a VC-rich environment to those in a VC-poor environment, which made evident that VC is an important in formulating our path choice behaviour. Bi-variate correlation and multiple regression analysis showed that a number of SC and VC factors affect path choice behaviour. The significant SC factors were occluded edges, legibility, and links; while significant VC factors were colour, cobblestones and signage, people. Increasing our sensitivity to these factors in the guidelines governing the development and the design of urban pedestrian spaces will increase the success of future pedestrian-oriented spaces