Long-range Collision Avoidance for Shared Space Simulation based on Social Forces

Shared space is an innovative approach to improve environments where both pedestrians and vehicles are present, with integrated layouts to balance priority. The Social Force Model (SFM) was used to visualise pedestrian and car trajectories so that peaks of density and pressure at critical locations are avoided. This paper extends the SFM to consider a long-range collision detection and collision resolution strategy. The determination of potential conflicts is enhanced using principle component analysis for a set of agent's prior speeds and directions. This long-range collision avoidance strategy results in more realistic SFM-based trajectories for pedestrians and cars in shared spaces.