Train Boarding and Alighting Simulation

Train Boarding and Alighting Simulation

An interactive, agent based simulation that compares the efficiency of train carriages using 3D rendered humanoid agents

This was a small project that I worked on over the summer of 2013-2014. Selby Coxon, a lecturer in Industrial Design at Monash University was working on his PhD project which involved a new design for a train carriage. The new design would reduce congestion during passenger boarding and alighting. This reduction would help alleviate ‘dwell time’ at the station and increase the overall efficiency of a public transport network.

In order to evaluate the new carriage design I developed a 3D agent-based simulation in the Unity Game Engine. The simulation contains a model of the proposed design which is then filled with virtual passenger agents. These agents follow simple behaviour trees to perform an alighting and boarding exchange which is timed and reported to the user. The 3D simulation allows for the evaluation of new carriage designs without the need to build large and costly life sized models.

Train agents before boarding

The simulation also included accurate models of existing train carriages that the same model would run through. This allowed users to compare the effectiveness of the new carriage against the old ones.

The project was first exhibited in 2014 for the submission of Selby’s PhD and was well received by the examiners and various members of the transport industry. More information can be found in the the publications from the project.

Train Top Down

Publications

  • Coxon, Selby ; Chandler, Tom ; Wilson, Elliott. / An examination of platform and train passenger boarding, alighting and dispersal through innovative 3D agent based modeling techniques. The Proceedings of the 19th Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association. International Ergonomics Association, 2015.
  • Coxon, Selby ; Chandler, Tom ; Wilson, Elliott. / Investigating commuter train boarding and alighting dispersal by contemporary agent based modelling techniques. Australasian Transport Research Forum Papers, 2015.
  • Coxon, Selby ; Chandler, Tom ; Wilson, Elliott. / Testing the efficacy of platform and train passenger boarding, alighting and dispersal through innovative 3D agent-based modelling techniques. In: Urban Rail Transit. 2015 ; Vol. 1, No. 2. pp. 87-94.