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A novel approach to the investigation and quantification of the stop/start process for pedestrian traffic using motion capture devices

Tavana, Hossein ; Thompson, Peter LU ; Boyce, Karen ; Frantzich, Håkan LU ; Nilsson, Daniel LU and McGrath, Denise (2024) In Travel Behaviour and Society 34.
Abstract

Characterising the stop/start walking process of individuals in a crowded and congested space is an important consideration in modelling pedestrian movement. However, the reaction of pedestrians to speed changes, especially to the person in front, has not been fully characterised nor quantified for full adoption in computer models. This study, therefore, explored the different phases of the stop/start process through a series of novel experiments conducted at University College Dublin (UCD) in which individual movements were captured precisely using motion capture equipment. The overall aim of the study was to develop a novel methodology (inspired from vehicle traffic flow) to break down and quantify the components of the stop/start... (More)

Characterising the stop/start walking process of individuals in a crowded and congested space is an important consideration in modelling pedestrian movement. However, the reaction of pedestrians to speed changes, especially to the person in front, has not been fully characterised nor quantified for full adoption in computer models. This study, therefore, explored the different phases of the stop/start process through a series of novel experiments conducted at University College Dublin (UCD) in which individual movements were captured precisely using motion capture equipment. The overall aim of the study was to develop a novel methodology (inspired from vehicle traffic flow) to break down and quantify the components of the stop/start walking process, i.e., the perception-reaction time, slow-down time, and start-up time of individuals walking in a single-file. These times, together with the total stopping distance and inter-person distances of each follower to their leader at the beginning and the end of each phase were quantified successfully and their inter-relationships were explored. The results showed the mean perception-reaction time, slow-down time, and start-up time delay were 0.48, 0.58, and 0.39 s, respectively. Where applicable, normal, lognormal, Weibull, gamma, and log-logistic probability distributions were fitted to the data to determine the best fit. The novel methodology developed in this study can be used in the future to investigate pedestrians’ behaviour in response to any changes in leaders’ speed, i.e. quantify the reaction of individuals in different phases. The results of this study can inform the representation of the stop/start process in microscopic pedestrian models.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Crowd dynamics modelling, Pedestrian perception-reaction time, Slow-down time, Start-up time delay, Stop-and-go wave, Stopping behaviour
in
Travel Behaviour and Society
volume
34
article number
100659
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85168835218
ISSN
2214-367X
DOI
10.1016/j.tbs.2023.100659
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e7113d3d-70a1-4361-a894-1c443f413a2b
date added to LUP
2023-10-20 15:47:51
date last changed
2023-10-20 15:47:51
@article{e7113d3d-70a1-4361-a894-1c443f413a2b,
  abstract     = {{<p>Characterising the stop/start walking process of individuals in a crowded and congested space is an important consideration in modelling pedestrian movement. However, the reaction of pedestrians to speed changes, especially to the person in front, has not been fully characterised nor quantified for full adoption in computer models. This study, therefore, explored the different phases of the stop/start process through a series of novel experiments conducted at University College Dublin (UCD) in which individual movements were captured precisely using motion capture equipment. The overall aim of the study was to develop a novel methodology (inspired from vehicle traffic flow) to break down and quantify the components of the stop/start walking process, i.e., the perception-reaction time, slow-down time, and start-up time of individuals walking in a single-file. These times, together with the total stopping distance and inter-person distances of each follower to their leader at the beginning and the end of each phase were quantified successfully and their inter-relationships were explored. The results showed the mean perception-reaction time, slow-down time, and start-up time delay were 0.48, 0.58, and 0.39 s, respectively. Where applicable, normal, lognormal, Weibull, gamma, and log-logistic probability distributions were fitted to the data to determine the best fit. The novel methodology developed in this study can be used in the future to investigate pedestrians’ behaviour in response to any changes in leaders’ speed, i.e. quantify the reaction of individuals in different phases. The results of this study can inform the representation of the stop/start process in microscopic pedestrian models.</p>}},
  author       = {{Tavana, Hossein and Thompson, Peter and Boyce, Karen and Frantzich, Håkan and Nilsson, Daniel and McGrath, Denise}},
  issn         = {{2214-367X}},
  keywords     = {{Crowd dynamics modelling; Pedestrian perception-reaction time; Slow-down time; Start-up time delay; Stop-and-go wave; Stopping behaviour}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Travel Behaviour and Society}},
  title        = {{A novel approach to the investigation and quantification of the stop/start process for pedestrian traffic using motion capture devices}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2023.100659}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.tbs.2023.100659}},
  volume       = {{34}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}