In a setting with many people outdoors, such as concerts, sports events, fairs, and amusement parks, there is a need for a crowd management system to direct pedestrian traffic through a fixed or deployable exit in case of an emergency. During emergency situations, normal entrances and exits may be overused or clogged due to the amount of people in the event. The goal of the project that the Purdue Research Foundation is sponsoring is to determine a safe and more efficient way to evacuate large amounts of people in case of an emergency. This will not only make evacuation quicker, but it will also reduce injuries that could occur.
To ensure that our project was visible by many individuals, we knew we needed it to be tall. Therefore, we used a bright green, 6ft tall air column with an arrow pointing in the direction of the exit. This air column is placed within a trash can so that it can be tucked away when it is not being used. During testing, however, we noticed that the trashcan alone did not allow for enough airflow. Therefore, we added many holes at the bottom of the container. In addition, we knew that we needed to make this system more noticeable. To do this, we added alarms and an LED that automatically began when the air column was deployed. Finally, we added a lid to our container so that our system was fully protected when not in use. This lid is mounted on a hinge and is held on by a solenoid latch. When our system is activated, the solenoid will unhook, allowing for our air column to be fully deployed. During this time, the alarms and LED will begin to go off, allowing for individuals to see exactly where they need to go to exit safely.
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