Towards a specification of behaviour models for crowds

Agent-based models (ABM) representing human behaviour are widely employed to simulate normal but also emergency situations. Human behaviour is heterogeneous and depends on individual properties. The properties influence motives and needs which in turn govern movement and behaviour. In this work, behaviours for humans at mass events like open-air concerts, street festivals or Christmas markets are conceptually formalised. The resulting behaviour specifications serve as input for an ABM to study crowd formation and eventually communication processes within the crowd. This work is embedded in pilot projects of the Fraunhofer Center for the Security of Socio-Technical Systems (SIRIOS) and forms a basis to realistically simulate human behaviour during mass events as well as to optimize communication strategies in case of emergencies.