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Crowd Simulators: Computational Methods, Product Selection, and Visualization

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Introduction to Crowd Management

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Abstract

Crowd simulation is becoming the dominant way to design infrastructures where large numbers of people transit or move and to plan mass events. Simulation software range from commercial products provided with extensive documentation to open-source codes available for research and development. The commercialization of crowd simulators has allowed to produce user-friendly software requiring little expertise to be used and generating visually realistic results. However, to correctly set up a simulation scenario involving crowd, it is important to have a basic understanding on how these simulators work and what are their limitations. In addition, the large variety of models and products available to simulate crowds could become a challenge when a selection is required. In this chapter, we explain working principles of crowd simulators while also proposing a methodology to select the best product/solution fitting one’s requirements. Also, we discuss the important topic of validation, proposing methods to judge on the accuracy of a particular simulation. Finally, methods to visualize the results will be discussed and compared to allow users picking up the right method depending on the simulated scenario.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan

    Claudio Feliciani & Katsuhiro Nishinari

  2. Industrial Research Institute for Japan Ltd., Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan

    Kenichiro Shimura

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  1. Claudio Feliciani
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  2. Kenichiro Shimura
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  3. Katsuhiro Nishinari
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Feliciani, C., Shimura, K., Nishinari, K. (2021). Crowd Simulators: Computational Methods, Product Selection, and Visualization. In: Introduction to Crowd Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90012-0_5

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