Principle behind daily pedestrian motion
Have you ever wondered whether there is a universal pattern to pedestrian movement? At first glance, this idea might seem far-fetched, since each pedestrian has their own unique goals, whether they’re rushing to work or leisurely window shopping. However, despite these individual differences, every pedestrian follows somewhat similar rules, such as maintaining a certain distance from others to avoid collisions. These shared patterns provide physicists with a useful starting point for studying pedestrian behavior, which is also known as collective behavior in physics.
Collection behavior and pedestrian dynamics
Collective behavior is observed in nature, with distinct patterns ranging from the quantum coherence in the superfluid phase to democratic consensus in animal groups, and even lane formation in pedestrian dynamics. Among these, pedestrian dynamics is particularly significant for both scientists and society. High population density in crowded regions can lead to accidents such as stampedes, resulting in serious injuries and casualties. Studying pedestrian dynamics can help us understand the formation of crowded regions and prevent such accidents.
In the theoretical study of pedestrian dynamics, scientists often model pedestrians as particles or continuum mediums. By varying the interactions between particles or in continuum mediums, a different collective pattern emerges, and the flow of crowded regions can be predicted. However, these studies do not account for the psychological impact on pedestrian dynamics. Incorporating psychological factors into these models is crucial.
Psychological mechanism with pedestrian dynamics
Recently, scientists have improved their models by adding two psychological mechanisms: anticipation and attraction. Anticipation means that people predict the motion of those around them and take action to avoid possible collisions. Attraction refers to the tendency of people to follow a faster pedestrian flow to the same destination. In this work, numerical simulations were performed with different interaction strengths of anticipation and attraction. These simulations were performed in several movement scenarios, such as pedestrian flow in a straight bidirectional corridor and crowd evacuation in a room. The formation of crowded regions was found to depend greatly on the interaction strength of anticipation and attraction. Different movement scenarios also played a crucial role. For example, a strong attraction mechanism led to structured pedestrian lanes in the straight corridor case, while a similar interaction setup resulted in many obstructing clumps in the evacuation example. This work highlights the importance of psychological mechanisms in analyzing pedestrian dynamics.
The study of pedestrian dynamics is still incomplete, and we look forward to more models incorporating diverse psychological mechanisms and the interplay between collective pedestrian behavior and these psychological effects. Hopefully, these studies can help us develop solutions to prevent serious disasters and create a safer society.