Effect of exit configuration on evacuation of a room without visibility

The evacuation process from a dark room with a few exits is investigated by means of experiments and simulations. We study the effect of the configuration of exits in the dark room on the evacuation process. In the experiments, people in a dark room are mimicked by blinded students wearing eye masks. The evacuation of the disoriented students from the room is observed by video cameras. The trajectory and escape time of each student are measured. The experimentally observed behavior of students is reproduced by the extended lattice gas model in which blind students are simulated by biased random walkers. The dynamic pattern of evacuating students and the mean value of escape times are calculated and compared with the experimental result. The distribution of escape times is our particular focus.