Invisible control of self-organizing agents leaving unknown environments

TL;DR

This paper develops a multiscale model for controlling crowds in unknown environments, using hidden leaders and optimal control to guide agents efficiently and prevent clogging, supported by simulations and real experiments.

Contribution

Introduces a novel multiscale model with hidden leaders and optimal control strategies for crowd evacuation in unknown areas.

Findings

Effective crowd steering using hidden leaders demonstrated in simulations.

Optimal control reduces clogging and evacuation time.

Real experiment confirms feasibility of the control approach.

Abstract

In this paper we are concerned with multiscale modeling, control, and simulation of self-organizing agents leaving an unknown area under limited visibility, with special emphasis on crowds. We first introduce a new microscopic model characterized by an exploration phase and an evacuation phase. The main ingredients of the model are an alignment term, accounting for the herding effect typical of uncertain behavior, and a random walk, accounting for the need to explore the environment under limited visibility. We consider both metrical and topological interactions. Moreover, a few special agents, the leaders, not recognized as such by the crowd, are "hidden" in the crowd with a special controlled dynamics. Next, relying on a Boltzmann approach, we derive a mesoscopic model for a continuum density of followers, coupled with a microscopic description for the leaders' dynamics. Finally, optimal control of the crowd is studied. It is assumed that leaders exploit the herding effect in order to steer the crowd towards the exits and reduce clogging. Locally-optimal behavior of leaders is computed. Numerical simulations show the efficiency of the optimization methods in both microscopic and mesoscopic settings. We also perform a real experiment with people to study the feasibility of the proposed bottom-up crowd control technique.