Getting urban pedestrian flow from simple observation

Abstract

In order for precise evaluation of MANET applications, more realistic mobility models are needed in wireless network simulations. In this paper, we focus on the behavior of pedestrians in urban areas and propose a new method to generate a mobility scenario called Urban Pedestrian Flows (UPF). In the proposed method, we classify pedestrians in a simulation field into multiple groups by their similar behavior patterns (simply called flows hereafter, which indicate how they move around geographic points). Given the observed road density in the target field, we derive using linear programming techniques how many pedestrians per minute follow each flow. Using the derived flows, we generate a UPF scenario which can be used in network simulators. In particular, we have enhanced a network simulator called MobiREAL, which has been developed in our research group, so that we can generate and use the UPF scenario. MobiREAL simulator has three main facilities: the behavior simulator, network simulator and animator. The behavior simulator can generate/delete mobile nodes according to the UPF scenario. The network simulator can simulate MANET protocols and applications. The animator offers elegant visualization of simulation traces as well as graphical user interfaces for facilitating derivation of UPF scenarios. Through several case studies, we show similarity of the derived flows to the observed ones, as well as the metrics that characterize the mobility of the scenario.