Herding and experience in real escape panic

Abstract

We investigate the effect of herding behavior and experience on evacuation time during escape panic. Experiments with mice were performed to mimic the escape of panicking crowds. Results of the experiment show that the time needed for mice to evacuate the room decreases as mice becomes more experienced due to training. This increase in training lessens the probability that the mice will herd. Simulations were conducted using agent-based model of K agents that are escaping from a confined room. Results of the simulations show that the longer evacuation time seen in the experimental results can be more attributed to herding behavior rather than the random movement of mice. Herding dominates when mice are less experienced. The evacuation time was observed to decrease as herding decreases and experience increases.