Multi-Agent Systems

This Special Issue ""Multi-Agent Systems"" gathers original research articles reporting results on the steadily growing area of agent-oriented computing and multi-agent systems technologies. After more than 20 years of academic research on multi-agent systems (MASs), in fact, agent-oriented models and technologies have been promoted as the most suitable candidates for the design and development of distributed and intelligent applications in complex and dynamic environments. With respect to both their quality and range, the papers in this Special Issue already represent a meaningful sample of the most recent advancements in the field of agent-oriented models and technologies. In particular, the 17 contributions cover agent-based modeling and simulation, situated multi-agent systems, socio-technical multi-agent systems, and semantic technologies applied to multi-agent systems. In fact, it is surprising to witness how such a limited portion of MAS research already highlights the most relevant usage of agent-based models and technologies, as well as their most appreciated characteristics. We are thus confident that the readers of Applied Sciences will be able to appreciate the growing role that MASs will play in the design and development of the next generation of complex intelligent systems. This Special Issue has been converted into a yearly series, for which a new call for papers is already available at the Applied Sciences journal’s website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/special_issues/Multi-Agent_Systems_2019

Coordinated Transit Response Planning and Operations Support Tools for Mitigating Impacts of All-Hazard Emergency Events

This report summarizes current computer simulation capabilities and the availability of near-real-time data sources allowing for a novel approach of analyzing and determining optimized responses during disruptions of complex multi-agency transit system. The authors integrated a number of technologies and data sources to detect disruptive transit system performance issues, analyze the impact on overall system-wide performance, and statistically apply the likely traveler choices and responses. The analysis of unaffected transit resources and the provision of temporary resources are then analyzed and optimized to minimize overall impact of the initiating event

Building Evacuation with Mobile Devices

In der Dissertation wird ein Konzept für ein Gebäudeevakuierungssystem vorgestellt, das es ermöglicht, Personen mit Hilfe mobiler Endgeräte im Evakuierungsfall aus einem Gebäude zu führen. Die Dissertation gliedert sich in drei thematische Bereiche, in denen zunächst ein Konzept für die Systemarchitektur vorgestellt wird und anschließend verschiedene Algorithmen zur Routenplanung sowie zur Lokalisierung der Geräte vorgestellt und evaluiert werden

Agent-Based Simulation and Analysis of Human Behavior towards Evacuation Time Reduction

Human factors play a significant part in the time taken to evacuate following an emergency. An agent-based simulation, using the Prometheus methodology (SEEP 1.5), has been developed to study the complex behavior of human (the ‘agents’) in high-rise buildings evacuations. In the case of hostel evacuations, simulation results show that pre-evacuation phase takes 60.4% of Total Evacuation Time (TET). The movement phase (including queuing time) only takes 39.6% of TET. From sensitivity analysis, it can be shown that a reduction in TET by 41.2% can be achieved by improving the recognition phase. Exit signs have been used as smart agents. Expanded Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) was used to determine the feasible evacuation routes. Both the ‘familiarity of environment’ wayfinding method, which is the most natural method, and the ACO wayfinding, have been simulated and comparisons made. In scenario 1, where there were no obstacles, both methods achieved the same TET. However, in scenario 2, where an obstacle was present, the TET for the ACO wayfinding method was 21.6% shorter than that for the ‘familiarity’ wayfinding method

Transportation evacuation strategies based on vehicular disaster management system in urban network environment Zubaida

The importance of emergency response systems have grown tremendously in the recent times due to the many manmade and natural disasters in recent years such as September 2001, July 2005 London bombings and the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster. Disasters cost huge human, social and financial losses. For example, in Typhoon Haiyan, as of November 2013, the official death toll from Philippines‟s devastating storm has passed 10,000 people. In addition, based on early estimates, the reconstruction costs could come to as much as $20bn (£12.3bn). Conventional methods for disaster management have shown little prospects of realizing the true potential of current and emerging technologies.This PhD research aims to propose and evaluate a disaster management system based on the emerging ICT technologies with a focus on transportation in urban environments. This work is presented on an Intelligent Disaster Management System based on Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) and Cloud Computing. Our research objective is to increase the safety and system efficiency, to reduce the accidents, congestion, and manage the emergencies and disasters. The effectiveness of the intelligent system has been demonstrated through modelling the impact of disaster on real city transport environments and compares it with the case where the intelligent proposed system was in place, and ability of generalizing the concept was increased through applying the proposed system on different cities. By applying our system, substantial benefits have been achieved in terms of improved and balanced traffic flow and smooth evacuation rates.Furthermore, a micro-simulation software model has been developed which employs the vehicular disaster management system in order to investigate the transportation evacuation strategies potential in reducing the human and economic losses.The particular contribution of my thesis is in the modelling and simulation of the traffic for disaster and evacuation scenarios. To this end, this project uses a range and mix of modelling and simulation technologies including macroscopic and microscopic simulation models; OmniTRANS and S-Paramics transport planning software.xixDuring the course of this PhD, disaster scenarios of varying scales involving 2-3 different cities of various sizes and characteristics have been modelled and analysed, thereby presenting a system which deliver advanced services in managing disasters which results in lower losses.Also, the Average Vehicle Occupancy impact on the evacuation process time has been investigated. Literally, it represents the higher number of car occupancy which means less number of trips required to the evacuation process. The results have shown that AVO contributes effectively in evacuation plans that are in place.Additionally, two different evacuation strategies have been applied and evaluated simultaneously and isolated. Subsequently, either continues the processes or perhaps there is a need to change the strategy where applicable and appropriate. In other words, after propagating the evacuation strategy, the traffic situation has been assessed and observed the effectiveness of the disaster management system on the network by comparing the performance of the proposed system against the traditional system. To sum up, the comparison between both scenarios shows the ability to secure more of vehicles, up to double the number, and hence improve the network performance in terms of safety. Moreover, there is an improvement in flow rate of many critical links. Many blocked links are turned into some reds and blues which means an improvement seemed to occur to the whole network

e-Sanctuary: open multi-physics framework for modelling wildfire urban evacuation

The number of evacuees worldwide during wildfire keep rising, year after year. Fire evacuations at the wildland-urban interfaces (WUI) pose a serious challenge to fire and emergency services and are a global issue affecting thousands of communities around the world. But to date, there is a lack of comprehensive tools able to inform, train or aid the evacuation response and the decision making in case of wildfire. The present work describes a novel framework for modelling wildfire urban evacuations. The framework is based on multi-physics simulations that can quantify the evacuation performance. The work argues that an integrated approached requires considering and integrating all three important components of WUI evacuation, namely: fire spread, pedestrian movement, and traffic movement. The report includes a systematic review of each model component, and the key features needed for the integration into a comprehensive toolkit

Exploring Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) for Emergency Management: Toward a Wiki GIS Framework

The past three years have witnessed unprecedented growth of user-generated volunteered geographic information (VGI) on the Web. Although scholars, decision makers, and citizens have recognized the potential value of VGI in emergency management, there exists no rigorous study on the availability, quality, and feasibility of VGI for applications related to emergency management. This dissertation applies methodologies of GIScience and computer science to present an overview of VGI and explore its value in emergency management with the goal of developing a wiki GIS approach for community emergency preparedness. This dissertation research concludes that VGI and wiki GIS represent new development in public participation in the production and use of geographic information. In emergency management, VGI and wiki GIS suggest a new approach to incorporate the general public in emergency response activities. By incorporating VGI in emergency management, official agencies and the general public gain better situational awareness in emergency management

A holistic model of emergency evacuations in large, complex, public occupancy buildings

Evacuations are crucial for ensuring the safety of building occupants in the event of an emergency. In large, complex, public occupancy buildings (LCPOBs) these procedures are significantly more complex than the simple withdrawal of people from a building. This thesis has developed a novel, holistic, theoretical model of emergency evacuations in LCPOBs inspired by systems safety theory. LCPOBs are integral components of complex socio-technical systems, and therefore the model describes emergency evacuations as control actions initiated in order to return the building from an unsafe state to a safe state where occupants are not at risk of harm. The emergency evacuation process itself is comprised of four aspects - the movement (of building occupants), planning and management, environmental features, and evacuee behaviour. To demonstrate its utility and applicability, the model has been employed to examine various aspects of evacuation procedures in two example LCPOBs - airport terminals, and sports stadiums. The types of emergency events initiating evacuations in these buildings were identified through a novel hazard analysis procedure, which utilised online news articles to create events databases of previous evacuations. Security and terrorism events, false alarms, and fires were found to be the most common cause of evacuations in these buildings. The management of evacuations was explored through model-based systems engineering techniques, which identified the communication methods and responsibilities of staff members managing these events. Social media posts for an active shooting event were analysed using qualitative and machine learning methods to determine their utility for situational awareness. This data source is likely not informative for this purpose, as few posts detail occupant behaviours. Finally, an experimental study on pedestrian dynamics with movement devices was conducted, which determined that walking speeds during evacuations were unaffected by evacuees dragging luggage, but those pushing pushchairs and wheelchairs will walk significantly slower.Open Acces