Two dimensional outflows for cellular automata with shuffle updates

TL;DR

This paper investigates two-dimensional cellular automata with shuffle updates to model pedestrian evacuation, analyzing phase dynamics, density effects, and queue shapes to understand flow behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a phase-based shuffle update mechanism and explores its impact on pedestrian flow and evacuation dynamics in cellular automata models.

Findings

Crossover between low- and high-density regimes identified

Outflow depends on floor field strength

Queue shape varies with density and update dynamics

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the two-dimensional behavior of cellular automata with shuffle updates. As a test case, we consider the evacuation of a square room by pedestrians modeled by a cellular automaton model with a static floor field. Shuffle updates are characterized by a variable associated to each particle and called phase, that can be interpreted as the phase in the step cycle in the frame of pedestrian flows. Here we also introduce a dynamics for these phases, in order to modify the properties of the model. We investigate in particular the crossover between low- and high-density regimes that occurs when the density of pedestrians increases, the dependency of the outflow in the strength of the floor field, and the shape of the queue in front of the exit. Eventually we discuss the relevance of these results for pedestrians.