Bidirectional Coupling of Macroscopic and Microscopic Approaches for Pedestrian Behavior Prediction

We combine a macroscopic and a microscopic model of pedestrian dynamics with a bidirectional coupling technique to obtain realistic predictions for evacuation times. While the macroscopic model is derived from dynamic network flow theory, the microscopic model is based on a cellular automaton. Output from each model is fed into the other, thus establishing a control cycle. As a result, the gap between the evacuation times computed by both models is narrowed down: the microscopic approach benefits from route optimization resulting in lower evacuation times. The network flow approach is enriched by including data of microscopic pedestrian behavior, thus reducing the underestimation of evacuation times.