Environmental effect on egress simulation

Abstract. Evacuation and egress simulations can be a useful tool for studying the effect of design decisions on the flow of agent movement. This type of simulation can be used to determine before hand the effect of design decisions and enable exploration of potential improvements. In this work, we study at how agent egress is affected by the environment in real world and large scale virtual environments and investigate metrics to analyze the flow. Our work differs from many evacuation systems in that we support grouping restrictions between agents (e.g., families or other social groups traveling together), and model scenarios with multiple modes of transportation with physically realistic dynamics (e.g., individuals walk from a building to their own cars and leave only when all people in the group arrive).

Building Egressibility in an Ageing Society

This is the final report of a three-year project called Building Egressibility in an Ageing Society, sponsored by the Swedish research council for sustainable development (FORMAS). While accessibility is an established and widely used concept in building design, the evacuation of people with functional limitations is still at a stage in which several research gaps exist. In this context, this work discusses the concept of Egressibility, intended as the accessibility to means of evacuation. A categorization of populations with functional limitations in light of their egress-related abilities was performed by reviewing egress and accessibility research. The role of functional limitations on evacuation performance was investigated using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). A qualitative interview study consisting of 28 semi-structured interviews with people with functional limitations was conducted to further scrutinize Egressibility issues of older people. An Egressibility assessment instrument, the Egress Enabler, has been developed based on the concept of person-environment fit. A Virtual Reality (VR) experiment involving 40 participants was also conducted to demonstrate the use of VR technology to study the impact of people with functional limitations on egress. It also allowed to explore how the presence of people with functional limitations affects exit choice. Overall, Egressibility was investigated with the aim to ensure that egress planning and procedures are designed to equally consider all members of an aging society

Integration of agent-based modelling of social-spatial processes in architectural parametric design

A representation framework for modelling the social-spatial processes of inhabitation is proposed to extend the scope of parametric architectural design process. We introduce an agent-based modelling framework with a computational model of social-spatial dynamics at its core. Architectural parametric design is performed as a process of modelling the temporal characteristics of spatial changes required for members of a social group to reach social spatial comfort. We have developed a prototype agent-based modelling system using the Rhino-Grasshopper platform. The system employs a human behaviour model adapted from the PECS (Physical, Emotional, Cognitive, Social) reference model first proposed by Schmidt and Urban. The agent-based model and its application was evaluated by comparative modelling of two real Vietnamese dwellings: a traditional vernacular house in Hue and a contemporary house in Ho Chi Minh City. The evaluation shows that the system returns differentiated temporal characteristics of spatial modifications of the two dwellings as expected

A Study of Technology Innovations and Applications in Transforming Safety and Security in Healthcare Facility Management

The increasing complexity of construction projects has transformed the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry through technology adoption over the last decade. But, Facility Management (FM) as an industry has been slow in technology adoption. Growing market competition, corporate demands and new ways of attracting clients for owners are compelling FM professionals to be more efficient. This requirement is driving technology adoption by FM professionals. This study identifies technologies adopted by Healthcare Facility Management (HFM) professionals for improving safety and security of users that have capabilities and conceived and/or developed applications that can or in some cases are at present used in HFM. Simultaneously, it also looks into potentials and capabilities of a handful of other technologies in further improving safety and security. Using Literature-Based Discovery (LBD), the technology applications and innovations aimed towards safety and security are discovered from the literature that falls within the purview of HFM to form a picture of how these technologies enhance the practice of FM. The study aims at detecting how technologies have contributed towards transforming user experience. Also, this study identifies existing technologies and innovation demands (knowledge and gaps in knowledge), a general understanding of technology, its use and capabilities, and its recognition by users and industry professionals (adoption/rejection). They serve to illustrate how and to what degree the technologies will come to be used in facility management. Technologies, as they mature, will come to be used by facility managers in similar functions and hypothetically, entirely new ones. One should create a better user experience tailored to the functionality demanded. It is important for facility managers to partner with technology companies presenting innovative solutions to create a platform that is tailored to user-specific needs. Acceptance of a unified process, together with input from users, facility managers, and an assessment of current technologies and new advances in practice are productive ways to develop technologies that drive user satisfaction. This paper works to illustrate a future vision of HFM based on these technologies. Healthcare facility managers will have a reference that assembles multiple technological proficiencies that can function in their practice going forward

The Use of Human Behaviour to Inform Egress Modeling in Stadiums

With growing concerns of public safety in infrastructure where large crowds gather, designing for egress under normal and emergency conditions is pertinent to ensuring efficient and safe conditions in stadia. There is a need for a large database of publicly available pedestrian movement profiles through experiments and the evaluation of relevant case studies. This thesis outlines novel human behaviour data collection at two stadia. Subsequent egress model validation using the MassMotion Advanced Crowd Simulation Software (MassMotion) was performed and measured total egress times. Although demographics and anthropometry in the stands slightly influenced the egress times, the stadium architecture was the governing factor which impeded pedestrian flow under non-emergency conditions. Analysis of a stadium fire case study allowed for evaluation of this conclusion during an evacuation which revealed that behavioural aspects of both occupant and staff may begin to dominate the egress simulation in an emergency context

Analyzing Human-Building Interactions in Virtual Environments Using Crowd Simulations

This research explores the relationship between human-occupancy and environment designs by means of human behavior simulations. Predicting and analyzing user-related factors during environment designing is of vital importance. Traditional Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools mostly represent geometric and semantic aspects of environment components (e.g., walls, pillars, doors, ramps, and floors). They often ignore the impact that an environment layout produces on its occupants and their movements. In recent efforts to analyze human social and spatial behaviors in buildings, researchers have started using crowd simulation techniques for dynamic analysis of urban and indoor environments. These analyses assist the designers in analyzing crowd-related factors in their designs and generating human-aware environments. This dissertation focuses on developing interactive solutions to perform spatial analytics that can quantify the dynamics of human-building interactions using crowd simulations in the virtual and built-environments. Partially, this dissertation aims to make these dynamic crowd analytics solutions available to designers either directly within mainstream environment design pipelines or as cross-platform simulation services, enabling users to seamlessly simulate, analyze, and incorporate human-centric dynamics into their design workflows

EVAQ: Person-Specific Evacuation Simulation for Large Crowd Egress Analysis

Timely crowd evacuation in life-threatening situations such as fire emergency or terrorist attack is a significant concern for authorities and first responders. An individual’s fate in this kind of situation is highly dependent on a host of factors, especially (i) agent dynamics: how the individual selects and executes an egress strategy, (ii) hazard dynamics: how hazards propagate (e.g., fire and smoke spread, lone wolf attacker moves) and impair the surrounding environment with time, (iii) intervention dynamics: how first responders intervene (e.g., firefighters spread repellents) to recover environment. This thesis presents EVAQ, a simulation modeling framework for evaluating the impact of these factors on the likelihood of survival in an emergency evacuation. The framework captures the effect of personal traits and physical habitat parameters on occupants’ decision-making. In particular, personal (i.e., age, gender, disability) and interpersonal (i.e., agent-agent interactions) attributes, as well as an individual’s situational awareness are parameterized in a deteriorating environment considering different exit layouts and physical constraints. Further, the framework supports a variety of hazard propagation schemes (e.g., fire spreading in a given direction, lone wolf attacker targeting individuals), and intervene schemes (e.g., firefighters spreading repellents, police catch the attacker) to support a wide range of emergency evacuation scenarios. The application of EVAQ to crowd egress planning in an airport terminal and a shopping mall in the fire emergency is presented in this thesis, and results are discussed. Result shows that the likelihood of survival decreases with a decrease in availability of the nearest exits and a resulting increase in congestions in the environment. Also, it is observed that the incorporation of group behavior increases the likelihood of survival for children, as well as elderly and disabled people. In addition, several verifications and validation tests are performed to assess the reliability and integrity of EVAQ in comparison with existing evacuation modeling tools. As personalized sensing and information delivery platforms are becoming more ubiquitous, findings of this work are ultimately sought to assist in developing and executing more robust and adaptive emergency mapping and evacuation plans, ultimately aimed at promoting people’s lives and wellbeing

Bridges of the BeltLine

As currently realized, the Atlanta BeltLine weaves under, over, and through a multitude of overpasses, footbridges, and tunnels. As in any city, this significant feature is simultaneously an asset and a potential hazard. These types of structures are "vulnerable critical facilities" that should be included in emergency risk assessments and mitigation planning (FEMA, 2013). As such, the Bridges of the BeltLine project was proposed as a mixed-methods study to understand how people's movement along the BeltLine can inform emergency management mitigation, planning, and response. Understanding pedestrian flow in cities has been underfunded and understudied but is nonetheless critical to city infrastructure monitoring and improvement projects. This study focused on developing inexpensive, low-power consumption sensors capable of detecting human presence while preserving privacy, as well as a survey designed to collect data that the sensors cannot. The survey data were intended to describe BeltLine users, querying on demographics, reasons, frequency, duration of use, and mode of travel to and on the BeltLine. After conferring with the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) leadership, it became apparent that ABI's primary interest is in understanding which communities are being served by the BeltLine and whether it has changed commuting and travel behaviors or created new demand. As a result, the project's original focus on emergency management was expanded to explore which communities are being served and for what kind of use. As such, the project's revised objective was two-fold: to facilitate understanding of (a) whether the BeltLine is serving the adjacent communities and purpose of use and (b) to inform emergency mitigation, planning, and response.This research was made possible by a grant from Georgia Tech's Executive Vice President of Research, Small Bets Seed Grants program, with supplemental funding from the Center for the Development and Application of Internet of Things Technologies (CDAIT)

A Study of Technology Innovations and Applications in Transforming Safety and Security in Healthcare Facility Management

The increasing complexity of construction projects has transformed the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry through technology adoption over the last decade. But, Facility Management (FM) as an industry has been slow in technology adoption. Growing market competition, corporate demands and new ways of attracting clients for owners are compelling FM professionals to be more efficient. This requirement is driving technology adoption by FM professionals. This study identifies technologies adopted by Healthcare Facility Management (HFM) professionals for improving safety and security of users that have capabilities and conceived and/or developed applications that can or in some cases are at present used in HFM. Simultaneously, it also looks into potentials and capabilities of a handful of other technologies in further improving safety and security. Using Literature-Based Discovery (LBD), the technology applications and innovations aimed towards safety and security are discovered from the literature that falls within the purview of HFM to form a picture of how these technologies enhance the practice of FM. The study aims at detecting how technologies have contributed towards transforming user experience. Also, this study identifies existing technologies and innovation demands (knowledge and gaps in knowledge), a general understanding of technology, its use and capabilities, and its recognition by users and industry professionals (adoption/rejection). They serve to illustrate how and to what degree the technologies will come to be used in facility management. Technologies, as they mature, will come to be used by facility managers in similar functions and hypothetically, entirely new ones. One should create a better user experience tailored to the functionality demanded. It is important for facility managers to partner with technology companies presenting innovative solutions to create a platform that is tailored to user-specific needs. Acceptance of a unified process, together with input from users, facility managers, and an assessment of current technologies and new advances in practice are productive ways to develop technologies that drive user satisfaction. This paper works to illustrate a future vision of HFM based on these technologies. Healthcare facility managers will have a reference that assembles multiple technological proficiencies that can function in their practice going forward

Managing egress of crowd during infrastructure disruption

National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under Corp Lab @ University schem