Inertia effects on strategy updating in emergency evacuation from a room with multiple exits

Abstract

The inertia effects on strategy updating in emergency evacuation from a room with multiple exits is studied using the modified floor field model. Game theory is adopted to deal with conflict resolving process of evacuees and inertia effects are introduced in both exit choosing and conflict resolving process. From simulation results, the influences of inertia effects on the evacuation times and cooperation frequencies have been discussed. Interestingly, it can be found that inertia effects in exit choosing may lead more evacuation times, while inertia effects in conflict resolving may lead more evacuation times and higher cooperation frequencies. This study provides a new perspective to understand how the inertia of changing status quo acts on the strategy evolution in emergency circumstances.