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posted by Fnord666 on Friday February 22 2019, @04:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the stop-the-butterfly's-wing dept.

Researchers at the IIT Madras have developed an algorithm that can help with the management of enormous, dense crowds using minimal manpower, and prevent deadly stampedes in massive public gatherings.

"These kinds of stampedes have clear patterns in how they start. We wanted to understand those early signs and figure out how you place the police people, or what we call ''game-changers'', who then direct the crowd in a way that would prevent a stampede," professor Panchagnula said.

The Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage at Prayagraj (Allahabad), is the world's largest religious gathering. Crores and crores of people taking a dip in the river Ganga on some days, making the event a hot spot for possible mishaps that could put thousands at risk.

For reference, one crore is also equivalent to 100 lakhs, where one lakh is equal to one hundred thousand. So one crore is 10,000,000.

See also Sparse game changers restore collective motion in panicked human crowds at arXive.


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  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 22 2019, @04:37PM (8 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 22 2019, @04:37PM (#805119) Journal

    I don't believe that any rational man voluntarily puts himself into a situation where a human stampeded can kill him.

    TL:DR Avoid crowds, stupid!

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by el-ingenioso-hidalgo-don-miguel-de- on Friday February 22 2019, @04:50PM (4 children)

      by el-ingenioso-hidalgo-don-miguel-de- (7351) on Friday February 22 2019, @04:50PM (#805134)

      When we got out of the one I saw in Oakland, California, the turnstiles to the nearby Bay Area Rapid Transit light rail were open - so my ride back to Fremont was free as in beer.

      One cannot always foresee dangerous situations.

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 22 2019, @05:05PM (3 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 22 2019, @05:05PM (#805148) Journal

        I've attended few concerts. Those I've attended have been in smaller venues. I won't be surrounded by ten thousand crazies, waiting for god-knows-what to happen. Such as a pyrotechnics thingy going haywire.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @06:04PM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @06:04PM (#805191)

          aaaaaand you live in a small village where there's no chance of highway traffic being redirected during an emergency, right? so, c'mon, flow control in the twin-towers, mecca, stadiums, supermarkets, town-centers are hugely important subjects. its about quality of life as much as its about the quality simply staying alive. .. but living on your isolated hill you couldn't have known, so, try reading the article!

          • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 22 2019, @06:13PM (1 child)

            by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 22 2019, @06:13PM (#805197) Journal

            LOL, no, I'm not the country hick who has never been anywhere. Nice try though.

            If/when I am forced by circumstances to be where there is a crowd, I'm the guy who hangs around the edges of the crowd, watching the roofs, listening for sirens, watching for smoke. And, just like driving, especially riding a motorcycle, I always have a way out. You never let yourself get boxed in. Of course, I've never claimed to be the life of the party.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @06:56PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @06:56PM (#805238)

              Same here, always have a way out which has already avoided being sideswiped by stupid drivers doing 3-lane changes abruptly.

    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday February 22 2019, @07:20PM

      by Thexalon (636) on Friday February 22 2019, @07:20PM (#805255)

      How about the people who are in a crowd not-exactly-voluntarily? For instance, the Walmart employee who was trampled to death in 2008 because he was the unlucky fellow whose job it was to open the doors on Black Friday? Or the people who work security and vending at sports stadiums and concert venues who have gotten caught up? Or the kids who are part of a huge religious gathering because their parents brought them? Or the people who were trying to commute to work and ended up in the middle of a protest by accident?

      It's easy to say "avoid crowds", but there are lots of reasons people end up in crowds that aren't a matter of just "Ooh, let's go to see Justin Timberlake!"

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @08:51PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @08:51PM (#805322)

      Now, now, this type of information can be quite beneficial. I can imagine it would be useful in surrounding one of those marches for the undocumented immigrants invaders, gently herding them towards the fenced-in holding pens. From there, they can be transported to deportation (for the invaders) or incarceration (for the traitorous citizens).

    • (Score: 2) by darkfeline on Saturday February 23 2019, @05:39AM

      by darkfeline (1030) on Saturday February 23 2019, @05:39AM (#805472) Homepage

      What is this rational man you speak of? I know of no such creature.

      --
      Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by krishnoid on Friday February 22 2019, @11:40PM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Friday February 22 2019, @11:40PM (#805381)

    Crores and crores of people taking a dip in the river Ganga on some days, making the event a hot spot for possible mishaps that could put thousands at risk.

    Mishaps like taking a dip in the river Ganga [downtoearth.org.in]? Or is that a 'hap' proper, since it's intentional?

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