Velocity Field Based Modelling and Simulation of Crowd in Confrontation Operations

In peacekeeping, domestic or combat operations, unanticipated crowd confrontations can occur. As a highly dynamic social group, human crowd in confrontation is a fascinating phenomenon. This study proposes a novel method based on the concept of vector field to formulate the way in which external stimuli may affect the behaviors of individuals in a crowd. Our approach represents each individual as an autonomous agent whose actions are guided by the vector field model. Furthermore, the concept of information entropy has been adopted to describe the connection between individuals’ behaviors and the potential of disorder of the whole crowd. A quantitative analysis on intangible dynamics of a crowd in confrontation is then enabled, which is significant in designing crowd control tactics.