Abstract
Agent-based crowd simulations are used for modelling building and space usage, allowing designers to explore hypothetical real-world scenarios, including extraordinary events such as evacuations. Existing work which engages virtual reality (VR) as a platform for crowd simulations has been primarily focussed on the validation of simulation models through observation; the use of interactions such as gaze to enhance a sense of immersion; or studies of proxemics. In this work, we extend previous studies of proxemics and examine the effects of varying crowd density on user experience and behaviour. We have created a simulation in which participants walk freely and perform a routine manual task, whilst interacting with agents controlled by a typical social force simulation model. We examine and report the effects of crowd density on both affective state and behaviour. Our results show a significant increase in negative affect with density, measured using a self-report scale. We further show significant differences in some aspects of user behaviours, using video analysis, and discuss how our results relate to VR simulation design for mixed human–agent scenarios.
Highlights
Agent-based crowd simulations are widely used for modelling building and space usage
The aim of our work is to determine whether such experiences can be reproduced in virtual reality (VR) simulations and to what extent they are dependent on crowd density, in order to warrant the use of such simulations with embedded human participants for training, evacuation simulations, or similar scenarios
Our work explores the impact of crowd density on user experience in VR settings; it complements and extends existing work by evaluating user affect and behaviour when participants are performing a task-based activity in a continuous social forces-based simulation
Summary
Agent-based crowd simulations are widely used for modelling building and space usage They allow designers to make predictions about hypothetical real-world scenarios, such as day-to-day use of buildings or crowd behaviours at large events (Johansson et al 2012; Tang et al 2017); they are used for training and planning of extraordinary events, evacuations (Helbing et al 2002; Pelechano et al 2008a, b; Zheng et al 2009). Existing work (for example, Filingeri et al 2017) has identified and described common themes in typical crowds These include negative responses to feelings of being overcrowded such as lack of personal space, inability move and anxiety: these factors can be seen to contribute to negative outcomes (such as panic) in extreme situations. The aim of our work is to determine whether such experiences can be reproduced in VR simulations and to what extent they are dependent on crowd density, in order to warrant the use of such simulations with embedded human participants for training, evacuation simulations, or similar scenarios
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