Models of wayfinding in emergency evacuations

How do people select their movement paths in a complex building? How do evacuees find their way to the exits? How do customers orient themselves within a shopping center? The paper presents the wayfinding problem in a mathematical setting, providing numerous models of wayfinding behaviour, ranging from the simplest random walk models to more complex shortest path rules. The models are analyzed numerically to illustrate their implications on the performance of the wayfinding process. Such models are of great importance when one studies how persons evacuate from a building. The maze at Hampton Court has served as an example, clearly demonstrating the wayfinding problems for an evacuating person. (C) 1998 Elsvier Science B.V.