Experimental study on pedestrian behavior in right-angled corners: Influence of departure position and passage width

Abstract

This article presents an experimental investigation into pedestrian behavior while navigating through right-angled corners (defined as angles measuring exactly 90 degrees), emphasizing on the effects of departure position and path width, which have not been thoroughly explored in previous research. The study utilizes controlled experiments and introduces criteria for identifying the initiation and completion of turning maneuvers. Key findings reveal that participants adjust their trajectories based on their initial departure positions, with those farther from inner boundaries displaying more pronounced boundary-approaching behavior. Notably, the starting positions of turning are significantly influenced by the pedestrians’ initial departure positions, while the passage width has only a limited impact on the starting positions for turning. Conversely, the ending positions exhibit a consistent and substantial trend of increase with the widening of the path width, while showing minimal correlation with the initial departure position. Kinematic features, such as speed, acceleration, and angular speed, exhibit distinctive patterns during turning. These insights enhance our understanding of pedestrian behavior in corner navigation, offering implications for facility design and pedestrian dynamic modeling.