Using Extended Range Telepresence to Collect Data of Pedestrian Dynamics

In this article a new way to collect data of pedestrian dynamics is introduced. A virtual reality system consisting of an extended range telepresence system and a microscopic pedestrian simulation is used to simplify data collection. The extended range telepresence system allows a user to move through a virtual environment by natural walking instead of by using conventional input devices, like a joystick. The telepresence system is connected to a pedestrian simulation which produces real time 3D animated output which is presented to the user with a head-mounted display (HMD) capable of showing 3D imagery. The simulated pedestrians react to the user of the telepresence as if it were another simulated pedestrian. With this system data about pedestrian dynamics can be collected in experiments in which not all participants need to be real people, but some – ideally all except for one – can be simulated. This allows the general collection of data about pedestrian dynamics but also to calibrate model specific parameters. In this paper three experiments are introduced. However, the focus of the contribution is to give an idea and an overview of the combined telepresence-simulation system as data collection tool.