Data Collection for Modeling and Simulation: Case Study at the University of Milan-Bicocca

The investigation of crowd dynamics is a complex field of study that involves different types of knowledge and skills, and, also from the socio-psychological perspective, the definition of crowd is still controversial. We propose to investigate analytically this phenomenon focusing on pedestrian dynamics in medium-high density situations, and, in particular, on proxemic behavior of walking groups. In this work we will present several results collected during the observation of the incoming pedestrian flows to an admission test at the University of Milano-Bicocca. In particular, we collected empirical data about: levels of density and of service, group spatial arrangement (degree of alignment and cohesion), group size and composition (gender), walking speed and lane formation. The statistical analysis of video footages of the event showed that a large majority of the incoming flow was composed of groups and that groups size significantly affects walking speed. Collected data will be used for an investigative modeling work aimed at simulating the observed crowd and pedestrian dynamics.