6,955 research outputs found
Effects of Data Resolution and Human Behavior on Large Scale Evacuation Simulations
Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ) based macroscopic simulation studies are mostly
applied in evacuation planning and operation areas. The large size in TAZ and
aggregated information of macroscopic simulation underestimate the real
evacuation performance. To take advantage of the high resolution demographic
data LandScan USA (the zone size is much smaller than TAZ) and agent-based
microscopic traffic simulation models, many new problems appeared and novel
solutions are needed. A series of studies are conducted using LandScan USA
Population Cells (LPC) data for evacuation assignments with different network
configurations, travel demand models, and travelers compliance behavior.
First, a new Multiple Source Nearest Destination Shortest Path (MSNDSP)
problem is defined for generating Origin Destination matrix in evacuation
assignments when using LandScan dataset. Second, a new agent-based traffic
assignment framework using LandScan and TRANSIMS modules is proposed for
evacuation planning and operation study. Impact analysis on traffic analysis
area resolutions (TAZ vs LPC), evacuation start times (daytime vs nighttime),
and departure time choice models (normal S shape model vs location based model)
are studied. Third, based on the proposed framework, multi-scale network
configurations (two levels of road networks and two scales of zone sizes) and
three routing schemes (shortest network distance, highway biased, and shortest
straight-line distance routes) are implemented for the evacuation performance
comparison studies. Fourth, to study the impact of human behavior under
evacuation operations, travelers compliance behavior with compliance levels
from total complied to total non-complied are analyzed.Comment: PhD dissertation. UT Knoxville. 130 pages, 37 figures, 8 tables.
University of Tennessee, 2013. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/259
"Last-Mile" preparation for a potential disaster
Extreme natural events, like e.g. tsunamis or earthquakes, regularly lead to catastrophes with dramatic consequences. In recent years natural disasters caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, destruction of infrastructure, disruption of economic activity and loss of billions of dollars worth of property and thus revealed considerable deficits hindering their effective management: Needs for stakeholders, decision-makers as well as for persons concerned include systematic risk identification and evaluation, a way to assess countermeasures, awareness raising and decision support systems to be employed before, during and after crisis situations. The overall goal of this study focuses on interdisciplinary integration of various scientific disciplines to contribute to a tsunami early warning information system. In comparison to most studies our focus is on high-end geometric and thematic analysis to meet the requirements of small-scale, heterogeneous and complex coastal urban systems. Data, methods and results from engineering, remote sensing and social sciences are interlinked and provide comprehensive information for disaster risk assessment, management and reduction. In detail, we combine inundation modeling, urban morphology analysis, population assessment, socio-economic analysis of the population and evacuation modeling. The interdisciplinary results eventually lead to recommendations for mitigation strategies in the fields of spatial planning or coping capacity
Overview of crowd simulation in computer graphics
High-powered technology use computer graphics in education, entertainment, games, simulation, and virtual heritage applications has led it to become an important area of research. In simulation, according to Tecchia et al. (2002), it is important to create an interactive, complex, and realistic virtual world so that the user can have an immersive experience during navigation through the world. As the size and complexity of the environments in the virtual world increased, it becomes more necessary to populate them with peoples, and this is the reason why rendering the crowd in real-time is very crucial. Generally, crowd simulation consists of three important areas. They are realism of behavioral (Thompson and Marchant 1995), high-quality visualization (Dobbyn et al. 2005) and convergence of both areas. Realism of behavioral is mainly used for simple 2D visualizations because most of the attentions are concentrated on simulating the behaviors of the group. High quality visualization is regularly used for movie productions and computer games. It gives intention on producing more convincing visual rather than realism of behaviors. The convergences of both areas are mainly used for application like training systems. In order to make the training system more effective, the element of valid replication of the behaviors and high-quality visualization is added
The discrete dynamics of small-scale spatial events: agent-based models of mobility in carnivals and street parades
Small-scale spatial events are situations in which elements or objects vary in such away that temporal dynamics is intrinsic to their representation and explanation. Someof the clearest examples involve local movement from conventional traffic modelingto disaster evacuation where congestion, crowding, panic, and related safety issue arekey features of such events. We propose that such events can be simulated using newvariants of pedestrian model, which embody ideas about how behavior emerges fromthe accumulated interactions between small-scale objects. We present a model inwhich the event space is first explored by agents using ?swarm intelligence?. Armedwith information about the space, agents then move in an unobstructed fashion to theevent. Congestion and problems over safety are then resolved through introducingcontrols in an iterative fashion and rerunning the model until a ?safe solution? isreached. The model has been developed to simulate the effect of changing the route ofthe Notting Hill Carnival, an annual event held in west central London over 2 days inAugust each year. One of the key issues in using such simulation is how the processof modeling interacts with those who manage and control the event. As such, thischanges the nature of the modeling problem from one where control and optimizationis external to the model to one where this is intrinsic to the simulation
Two dimensional outflows for cellular automata with shuffle updates
In this paper, we explore the two-dimensional behavior of cellular automata
with shuffle updates. As a test case, we consider the evacuation of a square
room by pedestrians modeled by a cellular automaton model with a static floor
field. Shuffle updates are characterized by a variable associated to each
particle and called phase, that can be interpreted as the phase in the step
cycle in the frame of pedestrian flows. Here we also introduce a dynamics for
these phases, in order to modify the properties of the model. We investigate in
particular the crossover between low- and high-density regimes that occurs when
the density of pedestrians increases, the dependency of the outflow in the
strength of the floor field, and the shape of the queue in front of the exit.
Eventually we discuss the relevance of these results for pedestrians.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures. v2: 16 pages, 5 figures; changed the title,
abstract and structure of the paper. v3: minor change
Invisible control of self-organizing agents leaving unknown environments
In this paper we are concerned with multiscale modeling, control, and
simulation of self-organizing agents leaving an unknown area under limited
visibility, with special emphasis on crowds. We first introduce a new
microscopic model characterized by an exploration phase and an evacuation
phase. The main ingredients of the model are an alignment term, accounting for
the herding effect typical of uncertain behavior, and a random walk, accounting
for the need to explore the environment under limited visibility. We consider
both metrical and topological interactions. Moreover, a few special agents, the
leaders, not recognized as such by the crowd, are "hidden" in the crowd with a
special controlled dynamics. Next, relying on a Boltzmann approach, we derive a
mesoscopic model for a continuum density of followers, coupled with a
microscopic description for the leaders' dynamics. Finally, optimal control of
the crowd is studied. It is assumed that leaders exploit the herding effect in
order to steer the crowd towards the exits and reduce clogging. Locally-optimal
behavior of leaders is computed. Numerical simulations show the efficiency of
the optimization methods in both microscopic and mesoscopic settings. We also
perform a real experiment with people to study the feasibility of the proposed
bottom-up crowd control technique.Comment: in SIAM J. Appl. Math, 201
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