Crowd Space Simulator (CSS)

建筑经理和活动组织者可能会面临复杂的挑战，当处理大量的个人在有限的空间。在正常情况下（活动结束、正常流通）和突发情况下（火灾等突发事件）疏散建筑物，必须根据应急计划进行，以改善交通流量，避免伤害。此外，建筑管理者需要充分利用他们控制的空间，以实现盈利最大化。此外，COVID-19大流行带来了新的问题，因为建筑物需要重新组织以符合不断变化的卫生法规，从而导致更大的成本和时间消耗。此外，探索增强建筑管理和性能的新选择是不切实际的（例如，研究疏散期间如何阻塞消防出口）。为了解决这个问题，我们发明了新的方法和软件工具，称为人群空间模拟器（CSS），为建筑管理者和活动组织者提供了一种安全管理人群的方法。CSS允许使用（现有的或新的）平面图自动生成建筑物中个人占用和流动的模拟。CSS改进了现有的手动解决方案，并提供了对大量场景的分析，以增强决策能力。此外，我们可以确定行人流量的瓶颈，这些瓶颈可以通过测试选项来缓解，而无需修改物理建筑。CSS通过为管理者提供准确、经济、及时的解决方案来解决他们的问题。本提案旨在评估我们技术的商业化价值。为此，我们将参与Lab2Market NSERC计划（https://lab2market.ca/）。在这个项目中，我们将对这项技术进行广泛的市场评估，通过提供有关市场兴趣的信息，确定市场进入的障碍和未来发展的潜在合作伙伴，为未来的商业化战略提供信息。除了全面的市场数据审查和分析外，我们还将与加拿大的几个主要利益相关者进行深入访谈。

Building managers and event organizers might face complex challenges when dealing with a large number of individuals in confined spaces. Evacuating buildings in normal circumstances (end of events, normal circulation) as well as under unexpected events (fires and other emergencies) must be done based on contingency plans to improve traffic flow and avoid injuries. As well, building managers need to make the best use of the space they control to maximize profitability. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused new problems, because buildings need to be reorganized to comply with changing health regulations, resulting in larger costs and time consumption. As well, exploring new options for enhanced building management and performance is not practical (for example, studying how the blocking fire exits during an evacuation).To solve this problem, we have invented new methods and a software tool, called Crowd Space Simulator (CSS) to provide building managers and event organizers a way to manage crowds safely. CSS allows using (existing or new) floor plans to automatically generate simulations of the occupancy and flow of individuals in buildings. CSS improve manual solutions currently in place and provides an analysis of a large number of scenarios to enhance decision-making abilities. In addition, we can identify bottlenecks in pedestrian flow that can be mitigated by testing options without modifying the physical building. CSS solves managers problems by providing them with an accurate, cost-efficient, and timely solution. This proposal aims at to assess the commercialization value for our technology. To achieve this, we will participate on the Lab2Market NSERC program (https://lab2market.ca/). Within this program we will conduct an extensive market assessment of this technology that will inform the future commercialization strategy by providing information about market interest, identifying barriers to market entry and potential partners for future development. We will hold in-depth interviews with several key stakeholders in Canada, in addition to a comprehensive market data review and analysis.