Crowd analysis
Crowd analysis is the practice of interpreting data on the natural movement of groups or objects. Masses of bodies, particularly humans, are the subjects of these crowd tracking analyses that include how a particular crowd moves and when a movement pattern changes. Researchers use the data to predict future crowd movement, crowd density, and plan responses to potential events such as those that require evacuation routes. Applications of crowd analysis can range from video game crowd simulation to security and surveillance. Background Due to population growth, crowd analysis has become a major interest in social and technical disciplines. People use crowd analysis to develop crowd management strategies in public events as well as public space design, visual surveillance, and virtual environments. Goals include to make areas more convenient, and prevent crowd induced disasters. Some crowds cannot be analyzed as easily as others. The psychology of a crowd impacts how it is broken up and studied. Crowds can be casual, such as a group of pedestrian walking down the road, or causal, like people participating in a marathon or protest. They can be as active and erratic as a mob or as passive as an audience. While the main crowd is