AvatarSim: A multi-agent system for emergency evacuation simulation

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Sharma, Sharad

Affiliations: Department of Computer Science, Bowie State University, Bowie, MD 20715, USA. Tel.: +1 301 860 4502; Fax: +1 301 860 3979; E-mail: ssharma@bowiestate.edu

Abstract: Computer simulations are powerful tools for virtual experiments as compared to real time evacuation drills that are difficult to implement as they are costly and some times dangerous. Simulation is an important tool for emergency response and is used for assessing the vulnerability of a space as well as for training, planning, and decision making. This paper presents AvatarSim, which is a multi-agent system, for simulating emergency evacuation scenarios. It models human behavioral parameters such as stress, anger, and panic which brings a sense of reality during emergency evacuations. It is created in Java and can be displayed on a web browser. The graphical user interface provides agent oriented support for modeling and simulating the behavior of agents in a multi-agent environment.

Keywords: Intelligent agents, multi-agent systems, behavioral modeling, evacuation simulation

DOI: 10.3233/JCM-2009-0232

Journal: Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering, vol. 9, no. s1, pp. S13-S22, 2009