Virtual Reality for Optimized CrOwd Management – VROOM

The VROOM project deals with the management of flows of users in public places, and more specifically passenger traffic in railway stations.

The general aim of the project is to objectify flow management measures, i.e. to be able to predict the effects of a management action on the conditions of use and traffic in a place. To achieve this, the project proposes an approach that combines a strong grounding in the field, enabling concrete case studies to be brought to light, and a new methodology based on virtual reality to analyse them and recommend solutions.

The aim of the project is to develop the use of virtual reality to gain a detailed understanding of behavioural mechanisms in dense traffic situations and to analyse them on an individual scale. The aim is to observe in detail the effect on passengers' navigation and locomotion of the various possible configurations of the environment, the information made available, and the conditions in which people frequent the premises.

The project also aims to provide a technological solution that can be deployed easily and punctually in a station environment to enable observation of traffic conditions, detect alert situations and measure the effect of management actions.

By combining these objectives, the VROOM project will establish the validity and effectiveness of a methodology based on virtual reality to understand the links between the operational management of traffic flows and their effects on users. The project aims to have a scientific impact in terms of knowledge of crowd behaviour and the operational management of public places, and in terms of the uses of virtual reality in this area. The project also aims to have a socio-economic impact by providing new technological solutions to this live issue. Finally, the project aims to have a societal and cultural impact for station passengers.