1. Presented: 11/05/09http://teamcore.usc.edu Agent-based Evacuation Modeling: Simulating the Los Angeles International Airport Milind Tambe, Jason Tsai, Matthew E. Taylor, Shira Epstein, Andrew Ogden, Prakhar Garg University of Southern California Gal Kaminka, Natalie Fridman Bar Ilan University Emma Bowring University of the Pacific

2. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Emergency evacuation Training and policy decisions are difficult Scenario: Evacuation of an airport terminal after an event Ideal: Conduct live exercises  Personnel can see what actually happens  Policy-makers can try different rules Issue: Live exercises are difficult  Requires the terminal to be shut down  Requires realistic response of hundreds of people  Unethical to instill real fear/anxiety in people

3. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Evacuation simulation Simulations provide an answer Proposal: Simulation replaces live exercises  Evaluate different policies  Decision-making training for officer  Visual conditioning for officers We propose to build an agent-based model with realistic human behavior and compelling visualization

4. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Our approach We focus on unaddressed issues unique to the domain BDI-style architecture  Standard architecture style for agents Social Comparison Theory mechanics  General theory of how agents impact each other Transition to emergency Model the transition from normal to emergency behavior Massive software visualization  Movie-quality people seen at eye-level

5. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Previous work: Teamcore We have worked in simulations in the past DEFACTO system  Training / coordination tool for fire department incident commanders Robocup Rescue  Search and rescue simulation Helicopter team simulations  Helicopter attack strategy simulation

6. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Previous work: Academic Evac. Simulation Wealth of work in evacuation simulations BDI-style architecture Agent interactivity without underlying social theory Social Psychology simulations Apply theories limited to very specific activities Physics-based simulations Individual behaviors are generalized We propose to use a general psychological model that can model both ‘normal’ and ‘emergency’ behavior

7. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Previous work: Architectural planning Architectural simulations provide a high-level view Metrics are high-level (e.g., time to clear a building) Lacks validated realism in individual behavior Legion software

8. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Previous work: Cinema Cinema simulations focus on dramatic effect and believability Metrics involve believability, director’s desires, etc. Lacks validated realism in individual behavior Massive software

9. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Collaborations We have established key collaborations Los Angeles Airport Police and TSA  First step will be to develop a simulation of Terminal 1 Massive software USC School of Cinematic Arts Cross-institutional team Expertise in crowd simulation, disaster response simulation, and Social Comparison Theory

10. Presented: 11/05/09Jason Tsaihttp://teamcore.usc.edu Challenges Computational speed Hundreds of agents with complex decision mechanisms Parameters / Calibration Data for calibration is sensitive information Techniques for analyzing the data are imperfect Validation Scientific validation Expert user buy-in jasontts@usc.edu http://teamcore.usc.edu