MassMotion 5.5 - RELEASED NOW
Performance Improvements
There have been many performance improvements in 5.5. Some simulations with large populations will see execution times decreased by half.
Priority Flow
There is a new property for Links, Ramps, Stairs, and Paths that can be used to restrict simultaneous bidirectional flow. Preferential access can be given to agents traversing in a particular direction, with agents traversing in the opposing direction automatically moving to the side to provide space for the primary flow egress. Possible uses include:
- Train or elevator doors
- Bidirectional turnstiles
- Bidirectional ladders (using paths)
Bidirectional Paths
Path actors now support bidirectional flow. If used in conjunction with the new priority flow, property agents will only enter a path if the path is empty or there are already agents moving in the same direction.
New Action: Wait Until Time
The new Basic Action can be used to instruct agents to wait until a specified simulation time. This can be useful when coordinating agent behaviour with specific events. For example, a plane departure could be simulated by giving agents a task to seek the gate waiting area, wait until some boarding time, then seek the gate exit. All agents, regardless of when they are given the tasks, will attempt to board the plane at the same time.
What will MassMotion do for you?
Our leading technology provides designers, operators, and owners with clear information about crowding, usage patterns, and occupant safety in a facility. This predictive power enables positive decisions to be made early in the design process with minimum cost and disruption. As designs evolve or issues arise, MassMotion can be used to conduct scenario testing for further optimization of the program and form of a project.
You can either construct the model in MassMotion or import a 3D model from a wide range of products including AutoCAD, MicroStation, Sketch-Up, Rhino and Revit. You then identify floors, barriers, links and portals along with the profiles of the ‘agents’ such as speed, tasks, volume etc. In the simulation stage you can then model hundreds of thousands of agents, each of whom has their own agenda and will respond to changes in real time. For example they may choose to take the stairs when faced with congestion at an escalator, or join the queue for a turnstile that has just switched from closed to open.
Due MassMotion’s 64-bit multi-threaded design which takes full advantage of multi-core processors and any available RAM, you can model huge crowds, and because changes to geometry are automatically computed, you can easily test, re-design, re-test without the burden of lengthy remodelling or reprocessing cycles. All this on an ordinary desktop PC.
The simulation is based on academic research, supported by observed crowd behaviour and rendered with gaming quality graphics.
Analysis
Once the simulation has completed you can use the analysis tool to examine how long it took people to get from one point to another, the flow rates for doors, stairs and escalators, and the comfort rating in different parts of the model and at different times. All this can be output as easy to understand graphs and visuals.
What is MassMotion used for?
There are many applications for MassMotion, it is highly adaptable to suit a wide variety of pedestrian issues at the planning stage or detailed design phase of a project.
Use it to simulate transit operations, venues/special events, and evacuation scenarios; stations, airport terminals, healthcare facilities, office towers and arenas/stadiums.
- Airport Terminal Design & Planning – including curbside with vehicles, passenger movement and processing, baggage handling, groundside operations modeling
- Rail & Transit Terminal Planning – large high density crowds and schedule based activity, neighbourhood dispersion including signalled road crossings
- District Modelling – unparalleled scalability will enable the complete simulation of large swaths of urban areas
- Fire & Evacuation Planning – validated multi-floor evacuation by stairs, evacuations including elevators
Key Features:
- The ONLY fully 3-dimensional program of its kind, built with gaming quality graphics
- True way finding - the ONLY program that has the ability to program individual personalities with unique agendas from start to finish in their journey through the environment
