Analysis of distributed evacuation guidance system in dynamic evacuation environment

Abstract

Visual information such as evacuation signs has been commonly used to support efficient evacuation in indoor evacuations. Recently, evacuation guidance systems with dynamic evacuation signs have been discussed, aiming to adapt to the dynamically changing evacuation environment and mitigate congestion that occurs during evacuation. Considering the severe environment during disaster evacuation, these systems must be robust; it is undesirable that the entire system is significantly affected by the malfunction of some components. A decentralized architecture, in which each evacuation sign functions independently without a central control mechanism, is considered suitable for these systems. We assume a system consisting of evacuation signs and sensors that function independently and examine the effectiveness of such a system in crowd evacuation. The analysis employing evacuation agents with herd behavior revealed that the system could decrease evacuation time by reducing congestion during evacuation compared to a system with static signs. Furthermore, the system can support efficient evacuation for evacuation routes that change during evacuation.