Using a Guiding Network to Determine Efficient Evacuation Routes in a Public Building.

Previous studies of models for evacuation routing usually divide the space into multiple interlinked zones. However, for public buildings that are characterized by a more complicated spatial composition, it may be harder to clearly and objectively define the margins for each zone. This paper proposes an approach that determines the most appropriate guidance locations and assembles them into an efficient guiding network. This allows evacuation routes to be constructed based on the links between starting points, guiding nodes, and terminal points. This approach avoids the difficulty of dividing a space into multiple zones and conforms more to real-life evacuation behavior. This paper also proposes an integrated model that applies simulation to estimate the evacuation time and ant colony optimization algorithms to search for an evacuation routing plan and a near-optimal guiding solution. The feasibility of the model is evaluated through a case of one floor in a hospital building. The results indicate that the model provides valuable suggestions for evacuation planning and offers practical support for the design of an evacuation guidance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]