Modeling Urban Panic

Schneier is reporting that Arizona State University's Paul Torrens has been developing a computer simulation to model urban panic. "The goal of this project is to develop a reusable and behaviorally founded computer model of pedestrian movement and crowd behavior amid dense urban environments, to serve as a test-bed for experimentation." The simulation tests behaviors from how a crowd flees from a burning car to how a pathogen might be transmitted through a mobile pedestrian over time among others.

Comments

You need a simulation for this?

[Anonymous Coward]

The simulation tests behaviors from how a crowd flees from a burning car

Hmmm... my guess is AWAY from the burning car.

Re:You need a simulation for this?

[mangu]

Crowds don't flee from burning cars any more than they flee from the scene of a burning building

They certainly do, if they are inside.

Re:You need a simulation for this?

[trolltalk.com]

Crowds don't flee from burning cars any more than they flee from the scene of a burning building

They certainly do, if they are inside.

... and how the fsck do you get a crowd into a car? Round up a bunch of midgets at the local circus, stuff them in, toss some gasoline on them, and light it? That'll attract a crowd, for sure ...

didn't they do this...

[notgm]

didn't they do model this already in the Grand Theft Auto series?

step a. pedestrian looks at event.
step b. pedestrian throws hands in air.
step c. pedestrian runs away.
step d. pedestrian gets winded, approximately 1/2 block from event.
step e. pedestrian forgets event.
step f. pedestrian walks around aimlessly.
step g. (sometimes) pedestrian's head explodes, becomes event triggering new step a.

seemed pretty darn realistic to me.

Godzilla Model?

[saudadelinux]

How can you have an urban panic without modeling a big, gray, atomic-breathed monster? Are they gonna CGI him, or Tron in some guy in a suit? :D

Why waste money on urban panic research...

[John3]

when Hollywood has done several studies on fleeing citizens already?

Yes but...

[grub]

... can it predict how a crowd in Times Square will flee from the goatse guy being displayed on the jumbotron?

Why simulate it?

[rucs_hack]

All you have to do is knock out the west coast's WoW access on a saturday and wait.

Number 4 is funnier

[spun]

4) design a mall which can compel customers to shop to the point of bankruptcy, to walk obliviously for miles and miles and miles, endlessly to the point of physical exhaustion and even death; Now that's what I call science! Now, if only we could design a website that compelled people to browse, even to the point of losing their jobs, reading obliviously to their need to shower, posting endlessly to the point of mental confusion and even complete retardation... Oh, wait...

Okay, so by 2012 I should have a gaming platform

[blair1q]

with a CPU, a GPU, a PPU, a P'PU, a SAPU, a DIADRPU[TM], a TBNPU, and a CULCAOPU

* Central Processing Unit
* Graphics Processing Unit
* Physics Processing Unit
* Panic Processing Unit
* Sexual Arousal Processing Unit
* DRM Infringement Attempt Detection and Reporting Processing Unit(R)
* Terabit Network Processing Unit
* Computer Upgrade Loan Consolidation Assistance Offer Processing Unit

But can it do combinations?

[mtraskos35826]

So will it be able to simulate a anthrax covered minivan with seven free Wii systems in the trunk? Seems impossibly complex to me.

They should remember that sometimes it's cheaper to do experiments in real life.

And don't forget number 6

[conlaw]

determine how various urban typologies, such as plazas, parks, major arterial streets and banlieues, can be reconfigured in situ into a neutralizing force when crowds do become riotous

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banlieue), "les banlieues" can be translated as suburbs, brothels or housing projects. It might be a good idea to find out which of these is being tested -- it's likely to make a big difference in how they can be reconfigured.