Position-Based Formation Control Scheme for Crowds Using Short Range Distance (SRD)

In crowd simulation, representing crowd behavior in complex dynamic environments is one of the biggest challenges. In this paper, we propose new algorithms to make crowds satisfy a given formation while they are moving towards a destination. For this, we apply the Position Based Dynamics (PBD) framework, but introduce a new formation constraint based on a so-called Short Range Destination (SRD). The SRD is a short-term goal to which an agent must move in formation. In addition, a grid structure that we use for neighbor search is also used for congestion control. Depending on the congestion value, the agents in the cell may break the formation and instead exhibit emergent behaviors such as collision avoidance, but must automatically restore the original formation once the situation is resolved. Smooth movement of agents is also achieved by adding special behaviors when they are moving along the path that the user specifies. From several experiments, we show that the proposed scheme is capable of exhibiting natural aggregate behavior of crowds in real time, even for a highly condensed environment.