Realistic multi-environment pedestrian simulation software

Hurrying commuters, shoppers, wandering passers-by, tourists, joggers – all meet in a limited urban space on foot, bicycle, or car. Conflicts are inevitable. PTV Viswalk’s crowd simulation is realistic: It simulates behavior of passengers, pedestrians, spectators, and evacuees – with each other and with other road users, such as cars, buses, trains, and cyclists. The pedestrian flow simulation combines analysis and visualization, making it easy to understand the traffic model. 

With PTV Viswalk you can 

1. Simulate pedestrians with individual parameters on sidewalks along roads.  
2. Simulate pedestrians as prioritized road users and make cars stop for them. 
3. Let pedestrians cross roads at unregulated stretches (“j-walking”), including waiting times for a gap in the vehicle flow. 
4. Test signal controls and their effect on delay times of pedestrians; and effect of pedestrians calling for green light on vehicle traffic.  
5. Simulate pedestrians wait at bus stops, have them board and alight from public transportation. 
6. Simulate traffic-calmed zones, meeting areas, residential streets, and shared public spaces. 
7. Measure travel and delay times and their effects on passenger flow. 
8. Measure densities and spot bottlenecks that might lead to congestions. 
9. Display level of services as heatmaps based on diverse properties (density, speed, etc.).  
10. Evaluate many other variables during crowd simulation. 
11. Produce animations for public participation and stakeholder engagement.

The walking behavior of passengers – or passenger flow - is influenced by infrastructure, timetables, and behavior of other commuters. These interactions are complex, and their results are not apparent at first glance. The microscopic, individuals-based simulation with PTV Viswalk gives you a comprehensive overview of the dynamics and paths of pedestrians in intersections. Simulate passenger flows in railway stations, shopping malls, or airports to analyze transfer times and determine capacities of existing or planned infrastructure.  

With PTV Viswalk you can:  

1. Simulate pedestrian movement with individual parameters.  
2. Simulate how pedestrians wait for trains in railway stations, or board and disembark (watch video). 
3. Simulate how delayed boarding affects rail operations, and how delayed trains impact passenger flow in stations (watch video). 
4. Measure travel times and dead times. For example, check if time until departure of a connecting train is sufficient to reach it. 
5. Measure densities, i.e., find bottlenecks with congestion potential. 
6. Measure and visualize level of service. 
7. Assess many more variables during crowd simulation. 
8. Create animations of pedestrian movements – to increase public involvement in project planning. 

How long does it take to empty a building in case of a fire? PTV Viswalk provides information about the time needed, and helps you evaluate evacuation scenarios. With PTV Viswalk, simulate and visualize emergencies in 3D, and analyze the effectiveness of different measures.   

Do wider doors lead to a faster evacuation, or simply increase congestion elsewhere? Which point in the building is furthest from the exits and possibly too remote for safe evacuation? With PTV Viswalk crowd simulation, you can check route decisions, behavior patterns, and effectiveness of measures to speed up fire evacuations. 

With PTV Viswalk crowd simulations you can: 

1. Measure evacuation times: individually and overall. 
2. Measure delay times. 
3. Display required safe egress times (RSET) as a heat map. 
4. Calculate and visualize the spread and duration of bottlenecks. 
5. Understand effects of fire scenarios on occupants, by importing and processing FDS result data. 

When building and operating event venues, visitor safety is a top priority. At the same time, visitor comfort is essential for a successful event. As an event organizer, it is useful in the planning phase to use crowd simulations and identify risks in different scenarios. With PTV Viswalk, you simulate human walking behavior, and identify bottlenecks that may lead to unnecessary waiting times. You will also examine operational processes, such queue lengths at the entrances and ticket counters, and the resulting waiting times. Based on the crowd flow simulation, you can adjust the event plan and ensure a smooth and safe event with a positive visitor experience.

With PTV Viswalk crowd simulations you can: 

1. Simulate queues and waiting systems (ticket counters, security checks) 
2. Calculate waiting times 
3. Assess density of people 
4. Model escape routes, emergency exits and evacuation scenarios