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On the modelling of transportation evacuation: an agent-based discrete-event hybrid-space approach

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Journal of Simulation

Abstract

This paper develops an agent-based discrete-event simulation (AB-DES) modelling framework for transportation evacuation by integrating an event scheduling scheme into an agent-based method. This framework has a unique hybrid simulation space that includes a continuous space and a flexible-structured network. This hybrid space overcomes the cellular space limitation in cell-based evacuation models and provides flexibilities in simulating different evacuation scenarios. Based on this AB-DES framework, we create an evacuation AB-DES model using the Parallel DEVS (Discrete-EVent System specification) formalism. We develop an algorithm to employ the event-scheduling approach to eliminate time-step scheduling used in classic agent-based models. Experimental results show that the AB-DES model is significantly more efficient than a pure ABS model while keeping high model fidelity and the same model capabilities including agent cognitive capability, collision avoidance, and low agent-to-agent communication cost. The agents’ cognitive capability and autonomy property as well as the hybrid simulation space differentiate this AB-DES model from classic pure discrete-event models.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA

    B Zhang & W K V Chan

  2. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    S V Ukkusuri

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  1. B Zhang
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  2. W K V Chan
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  3. S V Ukkusuri
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Zhang, B., Chan, W. & Ukkusuri, S. On the modelling of transportation evacuation: an agent-based discrete-event hybrid-space approach. J Simulation 8, 259–270 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/jos.2014.3

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