Agent-Based Evacuation in Passenger Ships Using a Goal-Driven Decision-Making Model

A new agent-based model is proposed to support designers in assessing the evacuation capabilities of passenger ships and in improving ship safety. It comprises models for goal-driven decision-making, path planning, and movement. The goal-driven decision-making model determines an agent’s target by decomposing abstract goals into subgoals. The path-planning model plans the shortest path from the agent’s current position to its target. The movement model is a combination of social-force and steering models to control the agent in moving along its path. The utility of the proposed model is verified using 11 tests for passenger ships proposed by the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization.