Agent-Based Model of Crowd Dynamics in Emergency Situations: A Focus on People With Disabilities

Abstract

Collective behavior of people in large groups and emergent crowd dynamics can have dangerous and disastrous results when panic is introduced. These events can be caused by emergency situations such as fires in a large building or a stampeding effect when people are rushing in a densely packed area. In this paper, we will use an agent-based modeling approach to simulate different evacuation events in an attempt to understand what is the most efficient scenario. Specifically, we will focus on how people with disabilities are impacted by chosen parameters during an emergency evacuation. We chose an ABM to simulate this because we want to specify specific roles for different "agents" in our model. Specifically, we will focus on the influence of people with disabilities on crowd dynamics and the optimal exits. Does the placement of seating for people with disabilities affect the time it takes for the last person to exit the building? What effect does poor signage have on the time it takes for able-bodied and people with disabilities to exit safely? What happens if some people do not know about alternative exits in their panicked state? Using our agent-based model, we will investigate these questions while also adjusting other outside effects such as the density of the crowd, the speed at which people exit, and the location of people at the start of the simulation.