Dynamic modelling allows the recreation of real-life movements of people and crowds within the computer simulation environment. A typical pedestrian simulation model should consist of three main ‘ingredients’: layout, pedestrian numbers and pedestrian behaviour.
The model can take into account a number of variables including:
- Time – The simulation can robustly imitate a real-life operation or performance of a building with its users over time
- Different walking speeds – Not everyone walks with the same speed. Children, elderly, people with heavy luggage or with other movement restrictions generally walk slower than typical commuters of a metro station in rush hours. Consideration of how quickly or slowly different people walk can be replicated in the simulation.
- People sizes – People need more or less space when they move throughout an area. This can be replicated in the simulation model, with the following taken into consideration:
- Footprint size – people with luggage or bicycles would occupy more space than those without
- Personal space needs – highly variable, can be related to cultural differences between different countries
- Crowding – people can accept reduced size of personal space in particular situations such as when travelling on a busy train or in the lift
The results of this type of assessment are usually measurable and allow detailed analysis in for any particular given time period for:
- Space utilisation
- Densities
- Crowding and congestion
- Queuing
- Processing
- Flow rates
- Walk and clearance time
Using this technique can allow numerous scenarios to be assessed at any stage in the design and planning process, including:
- Evacuation (standard or with one or more exit routes blocked)
- Future growth in pedestrian numbers for any given year
- Comparison of alternative design layouts
- Comparison of alternative operational parameters
- Special events
- Construction phasing