ICE-MoCha: Intelligent Crowd Engineering using Mobility Characterization and Analytics

Area of Science:

• Crowd dynamics and safety engineering
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning applications
• Wireless communication systems for monitoring

Background:

• Human injuries at crowd events stem from inadequate safety management and panic, leading to stampedes.
• Current AI-powered video surveillance lacks scalability for real-time crowd mobility prediction in large, open areas.
• Predicting crowd behavior is crucial for preventing potential disasters during large gatherings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an intelligent crowd engineering platform (ICE-MoCha) for enhanced safety management of mobile crowd events.
• To develop a system capable of real-time crowd mobility characterization and analytics for disaster prevention.
• To overcome the limitations of video surveillance by integrating radio frequency (RF) signal analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing radio frequency (RF) data, specifically Bluetooth low energy (BLE) signals, for crowd characterization.
• Developing an intelligent crowd engineering platform (ICE-MoCha) for real-time analysis of crowd mobility.
• Detecting and analyzing crowd identification, speed, and direction to track crowd status and predict potential incidents.

Main Results:

• ICE-MoCha successfully detected mobile crowd characteristics in real-time during experiments in both lab and real-world crowd event settings.
• The platform demonstrated the feasibility of using RF signal analysis for crowd management.
• The system effectively tracked crowd status and predicted potential accidents based on mobility patterns.

Conclusions:

• ICE-MoCha offers a scalable and cost-effective solution for enhancing crowd safety management in mobile events.
• Real-time RF data analysis, particularly BLE signals, provides a viable alternative to traditional surveillance methods for crowd monitoring.
• The platform can significantly contribute to avoiding crowd movement-related incidents and improving overall event safety.