Simulating Pedestrian Route Selection with Imperfect Knowledge

Heuristic evaluation of possible route choices allows pedestrians to make decisions in a timely and efficient manner. The heuristic function used to evaluate the route and the subsequent route selection has a large impact on the egress time of the pedestrian. We implement several common heuristic functions using the PLEASE simulation model and allow these heuristics to be combined using weighted factors. When the total distance of a route is unknown, using a greedy strategy of selecting the shortest-leg first route is shown to be a poor choice. When combined with other heuristic estimates however, including shortest-leg first costs can help to decrease egress times. We show that for a variety of building layouts using a heuristic function based upon width, distance, signage and congestion levels leads to better egress times.