Characterize body positions, contact forces, and psychology in dense crowds

Investigate and characterize the body positions, interindividual contact force distributions, and psychological states of individuals in dense pedestrian crowds to establish a comprehensive understanding of physical interactions and human responses under high-density conditions.

Background

Dense crowds are compact formations where physical contact and force transmission dominate interactions, making standard 2D approximations insufficient to capture phenomena such as balance recovery and fall-avoidance.

The authors explicitly state that understanding the detailed biomechanics and psychological dynamics of individuals in dense contexts remains open, underscoring the need for targeted experiments and models that can capture sub-microscopic body dynamics and psychological responses.