Calibrating Wayfinding Decisions in Pedestrian Simulation Models: The Entropy Map

TL;DR

This paper introduces entropy maps as a novel visualization tool to quantify and display uncertainty in pedestrian decision-making within simulation models, aiding modelers in understanding behavioral variability.

Contribution

The paper presents entropy maps as a new method for visualizing decision uncertainty in pedestrian simulations, enhancing model analysis and interpretation.

Findings

Entropy maps effectively visualize decision uncertainty.

Experimental results demonstrate the tool's usefulness for modelers.

Entropy maps highlight areas of high behavioral variability.

Abstract

This paper presents entropy maps, an approach to describing and visualising uncertainty among alternative potential movement intentions in pedestrian simulation models. In particular, entropy maps show the instantaneous level of randomness in decisions of a pedestrian agent situated in a specific point of the simulated environment with an heatmap approach. Experimental results highlighting the relevance of this tool supporting modelers are provided and discussed.