Researchers from a unversity in Michigan are developing a simulation for disaster response planning tool that can consider real time human decision making. Besides decision making, the simulation considers how human plan. This means that the system can more accurately model the decision making process by allowing the simulated human to learn from information as it is gathered. The simulation also takes into account how different types of people react in emergencies such as residents who know the location or tourist who require direction. The tool was developed to assist law enforcement determine effective strategies during evacuations. The simulation was developed for pedestrian traffic and can provide information such as how the number of police officers on the scene affects the speed of evacuation and how the percentage of tourist in a given area can slow down evacuation. In addition to evacuation simulations, the researchers see application for the software in traffic management or other situations that require humans to make quick decisions.
Source: http://ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=8093http://ns.umich.edu/htdocs
