Developing computer tools for simulating and visualizing the process of evacuating people from buildings

The aim of the project was to develop computer tools for simulating and visualizing the process of evacuating people from buildings. Those tools have the form of a mathematical model that describes the movement of people in various inside spaces and buildings with the use of the laws of pedestrians' motion studied experimentally and described in scientific literature. The model was based on Langevin equations for pedestrian motion supplemented with the social force component. Original computer software was developed for this model. It makes it possible to simulate evacuation processes from various inside spaces and buildings: the layout of inside spaces and the number and initial location of the pedestrians is defined by the users. The software includes a visualization module for watching the evacuation process, especially pedestrians' trajectories. Instructions for the visualization module were developed for users; they describe how the numerical program is launched and the individual steps of using it. Sample simulations of an evacuation process in different emergencies were run.