Stop-and-go waves induced by correlated noise in pedestrian models without inertia

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that correlated noise can induce realistic stop-and-go waves in pedestrian flow models without inertia, challenging the traditional view that such waves require phase transitions or instabilities.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel stochastic approach using colored noise in a first-order pedestrian model to generate stop-and-go waves without phase transitions or inertia effects.

Findings

Colored noise induces realistic stop-and-go behavior

Simulation results match real pedestrian trajectories

Model parameters are plausibly estimated

Abstract

Stop-and-go waves are commonly observed in traffic and pedestrian flows. In most traffic models they occur through a phase transition after fine tuning of parameters when the model has unstable homogeneous solutions. Inertia effects are believed to play an important role in this mechanism. Here, we present a novel explanation for stop-and-go waves based on stochastic effects in the absence of inertia. The introduction of specific coloured noises in a stable microscopic first order model allows to describe realistic stop-and-go behaviour without requiring instabilities or phase transitions. We apply the approach to pedestrian single-file motion and compare simulation results to real pedestrian trajectories. Plausible values for the model parameters are discussed.