Sign on

SAO/NASA ADS Physics Abstract Service

· Find Similar Abstracts (with default settings below)
· Electronic Refereed Journal Article (HTML)
· arXiv e-print (arXiv:cond-mat/9806097)
· References in the article
· Citations to the Article (40) (Citation History)
· Refereed Citations to the Article
· Also-Read Articles (Reads History)
·
· Translate This Page
Title:
Active walker model for the formation of human and animal trail systems
Authors:
Helbing, Dirk; Schweitzer, Frank; Keltsch, Joachim; Molnár, Péter
Affiliation:
AA(II. Institute of Theoretical Physics, Pfaffenwaldring 57/III, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany) AB(Institute of Physics, Invalidenstraße 110, 10115 Berlin, Germany) AC(Science + Computing, Hagellocher Weg 71, 72070 Tübingen, Germany) AD(The Center of Theoretical Studies of Physical Systems, 223 James P. Brawley Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30314)
Publication:
Physical Review E (Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics), Volume 56, Issue 3, September 1997, pp.2527-2539 (PhRvE Homepage)
Publication Date:
09/1997
Origin:
AIP; APS
PACS Keywords:
Disordered solids, Association, addition, insertion, cluster formation
Abstract Copyright:
(c) 1997: The American Physical Society
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevE.56.2527
Bibliographic Code:
1997PhRvE..56.2527H

Abstract

Active walker models have recently proved their great value for describing the formation of clusters, periodic patterns, and spiral waves as well as the development of rivers, dielectric breakdown patterns, and many other structures. It is shown that they also allow one to simulate the formation of trail systems by pedestrians and ants, yielding a better understanding of human and animal behavior. A comparison with empirical material shows a good agreement between model and reality. Our trail formation model includes an equation of motion, an equation for environmental changes, and an orientation relation. It contains some model functions, which are specified according to the characteristics of the considered animals or pedestrians. Not only the kind of environmental changes differs: Whereas pedestrians leave footprints on the ground, ants produce chemical markings for their orientation. Nevertheless, it is more important that pedestrians steer towards a certain destination, while ants usually find their food sources by chance, i.e., they reach their destination in a stochastic way. As a consequence, the typical structure of the evolving trail systems depends on the respective species. Some ant species produce a dendritic trail system, whereas pedestrians generate a minimal detour system. The trail formation model can be used as a tool for the optimization of pedestrian facilities: It allows urban planners to design convenient way systems which actually meet the route choice habits of pedestrians.
Bibtex entry for this abstract   Preferred format for this abstract (see Preferences)
   

Find Similar Abstracts:

Use: Authors
Title
Keywords (in text query field)
Abstract Text
Return: Query Results Return    items starting with number
Query Form
Database: Astronomy
Physics
arXiv e-prints