Heterogeneous Speed Profiles in Discrete Models for 1 Pedestrian Simulation

1 Discrete pedestrian simulation models are viable alternatives to particle based approaches based 2 on a continuous spatial representation. The effects of discretisation, however, also imply some dif3 ficulties in modelling certain phenomena that can be observed in reality. This paper focuses on the 4 possibility to manage heterogeneity in the walking speed of the simulated population of pedestri5 ans by modifying an existing multi-agent model extending the floor field approach. Whereas some 6 discrete models allow pedestrians (or cars, when applied to traffic modelling) to move more than 7 a single cell per time step, the present work proposes a maximum speed of one cell per step, but 8 we model lower speeds by having pedestrians yielding their movement in some turns. Different 9 classes of pedestrians are associated to different desired walking speeds and we define a stochastic 10 mechanism ensuring that they maintain an average speed close to this threshold. In the paper we 11 formally describe the model and we show the results of its application in benchmark scenarios. 12 Finally, we also show how this approach can also support the definition of slopes and stairs as 13 elements reducing the walking speed of pedestrians climbing them in a simulated scenario. 14 Bandini S., Crociani L. and Vizzari G. 2