Study of bottleneck effect at an emergency evacuation exit using cellular automata model, mean field approximation analysis, and game theory

An improved cellular automaton model for pedestrian dynamics was established, where both static floor field and collision effect derived from game theory were considered. Several model parameters were carefully determined by previous studies. Results obtained through model-based simulation and analytical approach (derived from mean field approximation) proved that outflow rate from an evacuation exit, which is usually estimated using outflow coefficient in building codes in Japan, can be improved by placing an appropriate obstacle in front of the exit. This can reduce collision probability at the exit by increasing collisions around the obstacles ahead of the exit.