Quantitative validation of PEDFLOW for description of unidirectional pedestrian dynamics

The results of a systematic quantitative validation of PEDFLOW based on the experimental data from FZJ are presented. Unidirectional flow experiments, totaling 28 different combinations with varying entry, corridor and exit widths, were considered. The condition imposed on PEDFLOW was that all the cases should be run with the same input parameters. The exit times and fundamental diagrams for the measuring region were evaluated and compared. This validation process led to modifications and enhancements of the model underlying PEDFLOW. The preliminary conclusions indicate that the results agree well for densities smaller than 3 m-2 and a good agreement is observed even at high densities for the corridors with bcor = 2.4 m, and bcor = 3.0 m. For densities between 1 and 2 m-2 the specific flow and velocities are underpredicted by PEDFLOW.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 Table, conference PED201

Attack on the clones: managing player perceptions of visual variety and believability in video game crowds

Crowds of non-player characters are increasingly common in contemporary video games. It is often the case that individual models are re-used, lowering visual variety in the crowd and potentially affecting realism and believability. This paper explores a number of approaches to increase visual diversity in large game crowds, and discusses a procedural solution for generating diverse non-player character models. This is evaluated using mixed methods, including a “clone spotting” activity and measurement of impact on computational overheads, in order to present a multi-faceted and adjustable solution to increase believability and variety in video game crowds

An information theory based behavioral model for agent-based crowd simulations

Crowds must be simulated believable in terms of their appearance and behavior to improve a virtual environment’s realism. Due to the complex nature of human behavior, realistic behavior of agents in crowd simulations is still a challenging problem. In this paper, we propose a novel behavioral model which builds analytical maps to control agents’ behavior adaptively with agent-crowd interaction formulations. We introduce information theoretical concepts to construct analytical maps automatically. Our model can be integrated into crowd simulators and enhance their behavioral complexity. We made comparative analyses of the presented behavior model with measured crowd data and two agent-based crowd simulators

The Hughes model for pedestrian dynamics and congestion modelling

In this paper we present a numerical study of some variations of the Hughes model for pedestrian flow under different types of congestion effects. The general model consists of a coupled non-linear PDE system involving an eikonal equation and a first order conservation law, and it intends to approximate the flow of a large pedestrian group aiming to reach a target as fast as possible, while taking into account the congestion of the crowd. We propose an efficient semi-Lagrangian scheme (SL) to approximate the solution of the PDE system and we investigate the macroscopic effects of different penalization functions modelling the congestion phenomena.Comment: 6 page

From individual characters to large crowds: augmenting the believability of open-world games through exploring social emotion in pedestrian groups

Crowds of non-player characters improve the game-play experiences of open-world video-games. Grouping is a common phenomenon of crowds and plays an important role in crowd behaviour. Recent crowd simulation research focuses on group modelling in pedestrian crowds and game-designers have argued that the design of non-player characters should capture and exploit the relationship between characters. The concepts of social groups and inter-character relationships are not new in social psychology, and on-going work addresses the social life of emotions and its behavioural consequences on individuals and groups alike. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of current research in social psychology, and to use the findings as a source of inspiration to design a social network of non-player characters, with application to the problem of group modelling in simulated crowds in computer games

Survey on Evaluation Methods for Dialogue Systems

In this paper we survey the methods and concepts developed for the evaluation of dialogue systems. Evaluation is a crucial part during the development process. Often, dialogue systems are evaluated by means of human evaluations and questionnaires. However, this tends to be very cost and time intensive. Thus, much work has been put into finding methods, which allow to reduce the involvement of human labour. In this survey, we present the main concepts and methods. For this, we differentiate between the various classes of dialogue systems (task-oriented dialogue systems, conversational dialogue systems, and question-answering dialogue systems). We cover each class by introducing the main technologies developed for the dialogue systems and then by presenting the evaluation methods regarding this class

10 simple rules to create a serious game, illustrated with examples from structural biology

Serious scientific games are games whose purpose is not only fun. In the field of science, the serious goals include crucial activities for scientists: outreach, teaching and research. The number of serious games is increasing rapidly, in particular citizen science games, games that allow people to produce and/or analyze scientific data. Interestingly, it is possible to build a set of rules providing a guideline to create or improve serious games. We present arguments gathered from our own experience ( Phylo , DocMolecules , HiRE-RNA contest and Pangu) as well as examples from the growing literature on scientific serious games