CODE: Crowd-optimized design of environments

We present crowd-optimized design of environments (CODE): a “crowd-aware” computational tool for designing environments (e.g., building floor plans). Our system analyses the impact of newly added environment elements (e.g., pillars or doorways) on the resulting crowd flow, using current-generation crowd simulators. The results of the simulation are used to provide feedback to the designer in terms of aggregate statistics and heat maps. Additionally, our system is able to “automatically” optimize the placement of environment elements to maximize crowd flow in egress scenarios, while satisfying constraints that are imposed by the designer. Using CODE, architects and environment designers can iteratively refine upon their original design to quickly accommodate the dynamic properties of crowd simulations in an interactive fashion. CODE is modular and flexible so that designers may build environments, select from different crowd simulators, and specify varying crowd configurations.