Large Experiment on Crowd Dynamics Conducted

As part of the BaSiGo project, the division "Civil Security and Traffic" at JSC, in cooperation with the Institute for Media Research of the University of Siegen, the Department of Computer Simulation for Fire Safety and Pedestrian Traffic of the University of Wuppertal and other partners, conducted large-scale experiments on the dynamics of crowds. The experiments with a total of 2000 participants ran from 19 to 22 June in a hall at the exhibition site Messe Düsseldorf, who provided access to their facility free of charge.

The scientists conducted experiments on a variety of topics. From investigating basic geometries such as corridors and crossings, to tests on which decisions humans make when evacuating a room, given the choice of several different escape routes. The Institute for Media Research focused on the question whether the behaviour of the crowd can be influenced by signs, in order to affect the steering and route choice of pedestrians. Details on the recording techniques and first insights gained by the experiments will be described in a special issue of JSC News in October.

The experiments received widespread media coverage, with reports in the Tagesschau television news and other national and regional media. Photos can be found at http://www.fz-juelich.de/basigo-photos.
(Contact: Prof. Armin Seyfried, a.seyfried@fz-juelich.de)

from JSC News No. 214, 11 July 2013