Elevated desired speed and change in desired direction: Effects on collective pedestrian flow characteristics

Abstract

Microscopic pedestrian simulation tools have gained increased attention and popularity in recent years. These are essential tools in planning and designing crowd-gathering places and public buildings. For increased reliability of such tools, they must be calibrated against reliable empirical data for a variety of situations. Detailed empirical studies could serve this purpose while providing insight into microscopic pedestrian flow characteristics under different conditions. A major gap in the knowledge is that no substantial research has examined the effects of elevated desired speeds and change in desired walking direction on collective behaviors of pedestrians. With experimental data coll..