Presentation Information
[O12-P37]Modeling Evacuation Routes at Ichikawa High School Using Cellular Automaton
*Mizuki Okabe1 (1. Ichikawa high school)
Keywords:
Evacuation Routes,Cellular Automaton
A study by Furukawa et al. (2016) shows a problem with evacuation. In nursery schools, if some children walk slowly, it will cause confusion. In high schools, similar studies were done at Takefu High School (2021) and Uwajima Higashi High School (2018). These studies showed where is crowded and how long evacuation takes.
From these studies, we thought we could do the same kind of test at Ichikawa Gakuen. We wanted to see if the evacuation routes we use now are good and find better ones.
A cellular automaton is a kind of system used for simulation. It was introduced by John von Neumann. It is used to study things like traffic jams and forest fires. In this system, a cell with a person is “1,” and an empty cell is “0.” If there is no one in front, a person moves forward one cell. If there is someone in front, the person stops (Figure 1).
Ichikawa High School has about 1,300 students. There are 11 classes in each grade and 33 classes in total. There is also a junior high school in the same place. There are three main buildings: the North Building, the South Building, and the Main Building. They are connected by a passage called the Community Plaza. The North Building has five floors, and the South Building has four floors (Figures 2 and 3).
First, we measured the width and length of halls and stairs using the building plans. Next, we decided which way each class would go. Then, we made a model in Excel.
The rules were as follows: There are no things in the way, and all students are in their classrooms. Each class has 40 students. Students walk in two lines. One cell is 60 cm by 80 cm, and one cell has one person. We did the simulation using these rules.
We used “steps” to show how long you takes to go to the goal. More steps mean more time.
There are three stairs: North Building A, North Building B, and Community Plaza B. We tested three patterns. In each pattern, we looked at three routes. We thought the route with the largest number of steps as the whole steps of that pattern.
The results were 661 steps, 640 steps, and 645 steps. The second pattern was the fastest. In this pattern, each class used the nearest stairs.
Also, the North Building B stairs had the smallest number of steps. The Community Plaza B stairs had the largest number of steps. So, evacuation may be faster if more classes use the North Building B stairs and fewer classes use the Community Plaza B stairs.
From these studies, we thought we could do the same kind of test at Ichikawa Gakuen. We wanted to see if the evacuation routes we use now are good and find better ones.
A cellular automaton is a kind of system used for simulation. It was introduced by John von Neumann. It is used to study things like traffic jams and forest fires. In this system, a cell with a person is “1,” and an empty cell is “0.” If there is no one in front, a person moves forward one cell. If there is someone in front, the person stops (Figure 1).
Ichikawa High School has about 1,300 students. There are 11 classes in each grade and 33 classes in total. There is also a junior high school in the same place. There are three main buildings: the North Building, the South Building, and the Main Building. They are connected by a passage called the Community Plaza. The North Building has five floors, and the South Building has four floors (Figures 2 and 3).
First, we measured the width and length of halls and stairs using the building plans. Next, we decided which way each class would go. Then, we made a model in Excel.
The rules were as follows: There are no things in the way, and all students are in their classrooms. Each class has 40 students. Students walk in two lines. One cell is 60 cm by 80 cm, and one cell has one person. We did the simulation using these rules.
We used “steps” to show how long you takes to go to the goal. More steps mean more time.
There are three stairs: North Building A, North Building B, and Community Plaza B. We tested three patterns. In each pattern, we looked at three routes. We thought the route with the largest number of steps as the whole steps of that pattern.
The results were 661 steps, 640 steps, and 645 steps. The second pattern was the fastest. In this pattern, each class used the nearest stairs.
Also, the North Building B stairs had the smallest number of steps. The Community Plaza B stairs had the largest number of steps. So, evacuation may be faster if more classes use the North Building B stairs and fewer classes use the Community Plaza B stairs.