The Application of Evolutionary Computation in Evacuation Planning

Evacuation planning plays a significant role in building evacuation. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how an evolutionary computation technique in the form of an estimation of distribution algorithm can be used in evacuation planning. This technique is used to evolve the number and location of exits in order to minimize overall evacuation time and reduce the number of casualties and injuries. The algorithm is applied to three day-care layouts, classified as playroom, lunchroom, and classroom settings. The algorithm generates an optimal or near-optimal configuration, and results across several trials can be used to determine the probability that an exit is needed for each possible location. The best exit configurations are presented for each of the three layouts, and a brief analysis is discussed. Although evacuation planning presented in this paper is focused on room layouts, evolutionary computation techniques have the potential to be implemented in large-scale evacuation planning