Multi-grid simulation of pedestrian counter flow with topological interaction

We investigate the dynamics of pedestrian counter flow by using a multi-grid topological pedestrian counter flow model. In the model, each pedestrian occupies multi- rather than only one grid, and interacts with others in the form of topological interaction, which means that a moving pedestrian interacts with a fixed number of those nearest neighbours coming from the opposite direction to determine his/her own moving direction. Thus the discretization of space and time are much finer, the decision making process of the pedestrian is more reliable, which all together makes the moving behaviour and boundary conditions much more realistic. When compared with field observations, it can be found that the modified model is able to reproduce well fitted pedestrian collective behaviour such as dynamical variation of lane formation, clustering of pedestrians in the same direction, etc. The fundamental diagram produced by the model fits also well with field data in the free flow region. Further analyses indicate that with the increase of the size of pedestrian counter flow system, it becomes harder for the system to transit into a jamming state, while the increase of interaction range does not change the transition point from free flow to jamming flow in the multi-grid topological counter flow model. It is also found that the asymmetry of the injection rate of pedestrians on the boundaries has direct influence on the process of transition from free flow to jamming flow, i.e., a symmetric injection makes it easier for the system to transit into jamming flow.