Hui Xi

An integrated pedestrian behavior model based on extended decision field theory and social force model

A novel pedestrian behavior model is proposed, which integrates 1) Extended Decision Field Theory (EDFT) for tactical level human decision-making, 2) Social Force model (SFM) to represent physical interactions and congestions among the people and the environment, and 3) dynamic planning algorithm involving AND/OR graphs. Furthermore, the Social Force model is enhanced with the vision of each individual, and both individual behaviors as well as group behaviors are considered. The proposed model is illustrated and demonstrated with a shopping mall scenario. Literature survey and observations have been conducted at the mall for data collection and partial validation of the proposed model. The constructed simulation using AnyLogic® software was utilized to conduct several experiments on performance of the mall and scalability of the proposed model.

Simulation-based workforce assignment considering position in a social network

Globally distributed software enhancement necessitates joint efforts of workforces across various organizations, which constitutes a multifaceted social network. Here, we propose a novel modeling framework to optimally assign the workforce to software development projects considering both short and long-term benefits of the organization. The proposed framework is composed of the evaluation module, an agent-based simulation model representing the considered social network; and the assignment module, a multi-objective optimization model. The Decision Evolution Procedure of the evaluation module first calculates the position values between each pair of available workforce. Using these position values, the Extended Regular Equivalence Evaluation algorithm of the evaluation module then computes the regular and structural equivalence values between each pair of workforce. Finally, the assignment module selects the optimal workforce mix maximizing both the short (productivity) and long-term performance (robustness) of the organization. The proposed framework is demonstrated with the software enhancement process in Kuali organizational network.