arXiv subjects

Chiel van der Laan

Publications and source records attributed to Chiel van der Laan.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Towards modelling abreast to in-file transitions in small pedestrian groups

Pedestrians in a crowd largely walk in small groups, dyads above all, and modelling how these groups arrange themselves is a step towards realistic models of the crowd as a whole. A dyad walks side by side in a dilute crowd and one behind the other in a dense one, an abreast to in-file transition recently measured in real life across the full range of naturally occurring crowd conditions (van der Laan and Corbetta, PLOS ONE 2026). The cost-function models of dyad formation by Zanlungo and coworkers (Phys. Rev. E 2014; EPL 2015) hold the pair abreast and have no in-file minimum at any finite density. Building on them, we propose and analyse a qualitative model in which the transition appears as an effective density parameter grows: the two formations become minima that coexist over a window of densities and exchange stability within it. We quantify this transition by computing the Orientation Log-Odds $Π_\text{OLO}$ as predicted by the model. This paper is a first step towards quantitative models of dyads and of their formation transitions.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2026

Probabilistic dynamics of small groups in crowd flows

Pedestrians in crowds frequently move as part of small groups, constituting up to 70% of individuals. Dyads (groups of two) are most frequent. Understanding quantitatively the dynamics of dyads walking in crowds is therefore an essential building block towards a fundamental comprehension of crowd behavior as a whole, and mandatory for accurate crowd dynamics models. Unavoidably, due to the non-deterministic behavior of pedestrians, characterizations of the dynamics must be probabilistic. In this work, we analyse the dynamics of over 6M dyads: a statistical ensemble of unprecedented resolution within a multi-year real-life pedestrian trajectory measurement campaign (21M trajectories, from Eindhoven Station, NL). We provide phenomenological models for dyad behavior depending on the surrounding crowd state. We present a thorough collection of fundamental diagrams that probabilistically relate both dyad velocity and formation to the state of the surrounding crowd (density, relative velocity). Depending on the surrounding crowd, dyads adjust interpersonal distance and may shift in formation, possibly moving from abreast states (which favors social interaction) to in-file (which favors navigating dense crowds). To quantitatively investigate formation changes, we introduce a scalar indicator, which we dub Orientation Log-Odds (OLO), that quantifies the relative log-likelihood of abreast versus in-file formations. Conceptually, the OLO quantifies the energy difference between abreast and in-file configurations under a Boltzmann-like assumption. We model how OLO depends on the crowd state, showcasing that its derivative is a product of two velocity-density fundamental diagrams. Together, these results provide a statistically robust, data-driven description of dyad configuration dynamics in real-world crowds, establishing a foundation towards new predictive, group-aware crowd models.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2024

High-statistics pedestrian dynamics on stairways and their probabilistic fundamental diagrams

Staircases play an essential role in crowd dynamics, allowing pedestrians to flow across large multi-level public facilities such as transportation hubs, and office buildings. Achieving a robust understanding of pedestrian behavior in these facilities is a key societal necessity. What makes this an outstanding scientific challenge is the extreme randomness intrinsic to pedestrian behavior. Any quantitative understanding necessarily needs to be probabilistic, including average dynamics and fluctuations. In this work, we analyze data from an unprecedentedly high statistics year-long pedestrian tracking campaign, in which we anonymously collected millions of trajectories across a staircase within Eindhoven train station (NL). Made possible thanks to a state-of-the-art, faster than real-time, computer vision approach hinged on 3D depth imaging, and YOLOv7-based depth localization. We consider both free-stream conditions, i.e. pedestrians walking in undisturbed, and trafficked conditions, uni/bidirectional flows. We report the position vs density, considering the crowd as a 'compressible' physical medium. We show how pedestrians willingly opt to occupy fewer space than available, accepting a certain degree of compressibility. This is a non-trivial physical feature of pedestrian dynamics and we introduce a novel way to quantify this effect. As density increases, pedestrians strive to keep a minimum distance d = 0.6 m from the person in front of them. Finally, we establish first-of-kind fully resolved probabilistic fundamental diagrams, where we model the pedestrian walking velocity as a mixture of a slow and fast-paced component. Notably, averages and modes of velocity distribution turn out to be substantially different. Our results, including probabilistic parametrizations based on few variables, are key towards improved facility design and realistic simulation of pedestrians on staircases.

physics.soc-ph↗