We are excited to announce the release of Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.6, the latest evolution of our advanced crowd simulation and Digital Twin software.
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Text by: Gary Gardner, VP North America Operations, InControl Enterprise Dynamics
Published in: Gameday Security Magazine
Simulation is a powerful tool for event crowd management because it can model, analyze, and predict/anticipate
crowd behaviors in a safe, controlled, and cost-effective manner.
The goal is to leverage the best technologies coupled with the best human team to provide the best experience.
Simulation digital twin modeling has evolved from one-off ingress, evacuation, and sheltering models of a venue using historical data for predictive analytics to simulating each event using real-time data integration to protect and enhance the event experience.
Safety and Security
71% of fans report insufficient response to incidents they have witnessed.
Safety and Security
40% of fans report witnessing unsafe or violent behavior at least once in the last year.
Safety and Security
Weather related shelters and evacuations have increased by 62% over the last 10 years.
Fan Experience
Fans spend an average of 42 minutes waiting in lines when attending major events.
Revenue Generation
10-15% of revenue comes from merchandise sales, but 60% of guests skip the lines because of their length.
Revenue Generation
Fans say they would spend $20 more on food or beverage if line times were cut in half.
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Using simulation software was an intricate part of our SAFETY Act Certification preparation and application by demonstrating our ability to develop effective safety/security plans.
Richard Fenton
CSSP. Vice President/CSO, Corporate Security and Safety, Ilitch Holdings Inc., and NCS4 National Advisory Board Member
TruVenue is a powerful simulation and digital twin application, designed for stadiums, arenas, campuses, and large-scale events. It provides venue operators with a virtual environment to test plans, evaluate risks, and optimize outcomes, before, during, and after live events.
For more information, visit the TruVenue page or visit us at the NCS4 Annual Conference in San Antonio.
Curious about how TruVenue can benefit your organization? Please contact us!
Chris Monroe
Program Manager TruVenue
chris.monroe@incontrolsim.com
+1 (313) 204-1705
Gary Gardner
Vice President North America
gary.gardner@incontrolsim.com
+1 (704) 239-2234
Explore how Bank of America Stadium uses TruVenue to streamline operations, ensuring safety and efficiency for NFL games, concerts, and more.
Continue readingTransform your venue operations with TruVenue! Explore three innovative ways it enhances planning, crowd management, and decision-making for unforgettable events.
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Explore how TruVenue redefines simulation in sports and entertainment, driving revenue through optimized layouts, ticketing strategies, and enhanced fan engagement.
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Explore the future of sports venue security with TruVenue’s microsimulation, transforming public safety through data-driven predictive intelligence.
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In July 2024, TruVenue, InControl’s cutting-edge digital twin application for sports and entertainment venues, has been honored with the Golden Eagle Award by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS⁴**) at The University of Southern Mississippi.
The Golden Eagle Award: A Mark of Excellence
The Golden Eagle Award honors outstanding achievements in system integration, architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) that specifically enhance the safety and security of spectators and facility infrastructure. This award is highly recognized within the industry for technologies and solutions that not only address safety gaps but also maintain a balance between security and fan experience.
A panel of subject matter experts (SMEs) assessed entries based on their relevance to the sports industry, effectiveness in solving critical safety issues, and innovative use of technology. TruVenue was selected as the winner for its innovative approach to balancing fan safety and experience, using data-driven simulation to optimize event operations and prepare for emergencies.
TruVenue: Enhancing Safety and Fan Experience Through Simulation
TruVenue, is a digital twin application that allows sports and entertainment venues to simulate every aspect of the fan journey, from ticket purchase to leaving the event. By leveraging real-time data and interactive 2D and 3D mapping tools, TruVenue provides venue managers with a powerful tool to visualize, plan, and optimize every aspect of the event.
Key challenges for venues include managing pedestrian traffic, parking, transportation, and logistics, all while ensuring adherence to safety rules. TruVenue addresses these complexities by providing simulations that enable stakeholders to test different scenarios, to identify and mitigate potential safety risks and liabilities before they arise. Whether it’s ensuring smooth pedestrian flow or responding to an emergency, TruVenue enables pre-event analysis and planning to minimize disruptions and optimize venue operations.
Life-Saving Simulations: When Minutes Matter
One of the most impactful applications of TruVenue lies in its potential to save lives during emergencies. Through 2D and 3D mapping, the digital twin allows venues to simulate emergency scenarios, mapping out where AEDs, first-aid kits, ambulances, and fire water connections are located. Staff and emergency responders can practice simulations to ensure they are prepared to act swiftly when real-life emergencies occur. By identifying the quickest routes to aid stations and evacuation paths, TruVenue prepares staff to handle crises confidently and efficiently.
Emergency Preparedness for Mass Casualty and Severe Weather Events
TruVenue enables venues to rehearse evacuations, coordinate medical and law enforcement responses, and prepare for scenarios such as bombings, active shooter or car raming situations.
For venues particularly vulnerable to severe weather, TruVenue is an invaluable tool. The platform allows operators to simulate sheltering capacities and evacuation times, ensuring spectators can reach safety before dangerous conditions arise. Even venues with outdoor or temporary structures, which may not fully meet International Code Council sheltering standards, can benefit from these life-saving simulations.
Industry Recognition and the Future of Venue Safety
TruVenue’s digital twin application sets a new standard for safety preparedness in sports and entertainment venues. By leveraging simulation, venue operators can better prepare for emergencies, optimize operations, and ultimately enhance both security and the fan experience. This award-winning solution underscores the critical role of innovation and foresight in ensuring that every fan can enjoy events in a safe, secure environment.
At InControl, we are committed to developing cutting-edge solutions that help venues run safer and more efficient events. TruVenue embodies this mission by empowering operators with the tools to enhance safety, streamline operations, maximize revenue opportunities and improve the overall fan experience.
Discover how TruVenue can transform safety and operations at your venue. Contact us today for a demo and see how our digital twin application can help you prepare for any scenario and ensure the highest level of safety for your fans and staff.
** About NCS4:
Established in 2006, The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at The University of Southern Mississippi is the world leader in addressing potential threats and risks to the safety and security of sporting events.
Their program is top among academic institutions studying techniques, strategies and solutions to mitigate the safety and security risks inherent in spectator sports venues. Through cutting-edge research, internationally recognized educational programs, training and innovative solutions, NCS4 continues to enhance the level of preparedness at sports events nationwide. Housing the National Institute for the Study of Sports Incidents and the National Sports Security Laboratory, NCS4 equips current and future sports managers with the specialized skills and knowledge they need to address real challenges in maintaining secure sports venues.
Their mission is to conduct innovative research, provide internationally recognized academic programs, enhance training capabilities and develop integrated security solutions.
For more information visit their website.
Related new items
We are pleased to announce the release of Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.5, the latest update in our advanced crowd simulation digital twin software. This release offers improvements in user-friendliness, expanded modeling capabilities, and greater control over simulation parameters. These upgrades are designed to simplify your workflow, provide more realistic simulation options, and give you enhanced flexibility for complex models and scenarios.
Enhanced User-Friendliness and Faster Model Building
Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.5 streamlines model setup with the introduction of a new filter tool, which enables users to quickly select multiple elements at once. This feature enables quick and easy bulk selection on specific element types within your model. When used with the multi-edit tool, it allows rapid property adjustments across selected elements, significantly reducing the setup time.
By focusing on usability and efficiency, we’ve made it possible for users to build and refine models faster, allowing more time to focus on testing and analyzing scenarios and results.
Expanded Functionality with Configurable Elevators
We’ve expanded the software’s capabilities to support configurable elevator availability. Now, you can control elevator usage patterns to simulate different operating conditions, from peak times to restricted access scenarios. This feature is ideal for environments where elevator demand fluctuates, such as multi-floor facilities, transport hubs, and public venues.
Configurable elevators enable you to simulate dynamic interactions and evaluate the impact of elevator availability on crowd movement, offering more insights for scenarios where elevators play a critical role in pedestrian flows.
Improved Modeling Control with Specified Agent Paths
The new release includes an agent path control feature, enabling users to specify which corridors agents will use to reach their destinations. This level of control allows for highly customizable routing, making it easier to reflect specific movement patterns within your model. Whether you’re simulating emergency exits, one-way systems, or controlled access zones, you can now guide agent movements with precision.
This added flexibility means you can better model real-life scenarios where pedestrian flow is directed, restricted, or influenced by specific spatial configurations. The agent path control feature is ideal for complex environments like airports, urban centers, and stadiums where accurately modeling pedestrian routes is essential.
For more details on these new features and additional improvements, view the Release Highlights document (pdf).
Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.5 introduces new tools and features that make the software more intuitive, flexible, and realistic. With improvements like an enhanced user interface, greater control over agent movement, and advanced elevator functionality, this release reflects our commitment to enhancing usability and expanding capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our users.
Ready to experience the advancements yourself? Download the free trial today and explore how Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.5 can elevate your modeling and simulation projects.
For more information, or to see the software in action, please contact us and schedule a demo.
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For over 14 years, InControl and Mijksenaar have combined their expertise in wayfinding and simulation software, delivering cutting-edge solutions for venues of various sizes and purposes. One notable project resulting from this collaboration is enhancing the customer experience, optimizing the operational processes, and improving sales at Ski Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, with Majid Al Futtaim as our client.
Ski Dubai is part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world, located in Dubai. The unique indoor ski facility was developed by the Majid Al Futtaim Group, which also owns and operates the Mall of the Emirates and all indoor ski facilities in MENA (Middle East and North Africa). The facility features an impressive indoor ski area of 22.500 square meters for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts and a snow park for additional recreational activities. The indoor facility features an 85-meter-high indoor mountain with 5 slopes of varying steepness and difficulty, including a 400-meter-long run; the world’s first indoor black diamond run. Ski Dubai is a unique attraction, and its strategic location within the mall makes it easily accessible to locals and tourists, contributing to its popularity. It has been ranked number one among the World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort for six years in a row!
Ski Dubai’s primary goal is to provide visitors with a seamless, personal, immersive, and unique experience. However, challenges arose during peak seasons, with reports of extended queues in the Ski Dubai and adjacent areas in the shopping mall. In response, Ski Dubai enlisted the support of Mijksenaar and InControl for the ‘quick enhancements’ project. Mijksenaar developed a new wayfinding concept, while InControl collaborated to develop insights and implement improvements through a dynamic visitors and staff Digital Twin Simulation model.
The Digital Twin Simulation Model
With over 35 years of expertise, InControl has been developing Digital Twin Simulation Software solutions. The software significantly contributes to the decision-making process, operational monitoring, control, and performance optimization. These solutions are integral throughout all project phases, from system design to implementation and operations.
In the context of Ski Dubai, InControl utilized its Crowd Management Simulation Software to create a Digital Twin, serving as a robust tool that utilized various types of data for making informed decisions about the entire venue. Using the digital twin model, Ski Dubai was able to identify bottlenecks and explore potential improvements, such as adjusting layouts of counters and kiosks, changing and relaxing areas, infrastructure, routing, staff capacity planning, and visitor flows. The goal was to optimize specific aspects of the layout or process, ultimately enhancing the overall performance.
The dynamic pedestrian digital twin covered various activities within the Ski Dubai complex, including arrival, orientation, e-ticketing purchases, ski- and snowboard equipment rental, changing rooms, and visits to the cold area. The model offered valuable insights into queue length, waiting times, total throughput time, high densities, area occupancy, user experiences, equipment sales in the shop, and more.
The insights derived from this dynamic model empowered Ski Dubai to create a more seamless and efficient customer experience in the warm area. This collaboration with InControl was a strategic approach to addressing specific challenges and elevating visitors’ satisfaction, particularly during peak seasons.
Figure 1: Digital Twin Simulation Model showcasing the Admission Area. On the left, is a 3D visualization of the area; on the right, is a density map highlighting the distribution within the admission area.
Creating a Journey through Wayfinding
Mijksenaar’s multidisciplinary designers were brought in to ensure a stress-free, enjoyable, and consistent journey could be promised to every visitor. With 38 years of wayfinding experience, Mijksenaar assessed the location holistically, looking at the complete journey from the visitors leaving their homes, ordering tickets, arriving at the location, queuing, ticketing, changing, slopes, and dining to their return home. The wayfinding solutions are built on the Mijksenaar ‘ONE’ Principle: Orientation, Navigation, and Experience, and are tailored to each specific situation.
Figure 2: The user journey from a wayfinding perspective.
By combining Mijksenaar’s ONE Principle with insights from InControl’s Digital Twin model, Mijksenaar conducted the following analyses and implemented a complete wayfinding review:
The Mijksenaar team utilized natural wayfinding principles to manipulate the orientation and navigation of the space, simplifying entrance, desk, and queue areas to cut down on time for visitors. UX design ensured all communication was visually compatible for every visitor at Ski Dubai, connecting and reaffirming the brand. These changes manifested into a complete update of the entire venue, vastly improving the guests’ experiences.
Figure 3: Renovated admission area.
The collaborative initiative addressed specific challenges and led to a comprehensive transformation, resulting in a future-proof, scalable, enriched, and more enjoyable experience for visitors at Ski Dubai.
The collaborative effort yielded highly positive results for Ski Dubai:
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The cooperation with the Ski Dubai Team and the recognized knowledge, experiences, and simulation software of both InControl and Mijksenaar guaranteed this project as well as the results, delivered within the committed scope, planning, and budget. We are looking forward to continuing the cooperation with Mijksenaar to the Majid Al Futtaim Group and other leading companies.
– Christophe Vreeke, CCO of InControl Enterprise Dynamics
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This project shows that good wayfinding and spatial design adds significant, measurable value to a service. Visitor experience has skyrocketed, and the operational process has improved dramatically. This means not only bottom-line growth for a more efficient organization but especially top-line growth with new customers and better-fitting service. This has been made possible by the cooperation between Mijksenaar InControl, a partnership we are so proud of.
– Aad Kalkman, Managing Director, Mijksenaar
In conclusion, the collaborative efforts between InControl and Mijksenaar have not only transformed Ski Dubai into a seamless customer experience but also set a benchmark for future operations and improvement actions in enhancing visitor satisfaction. By combining cutting-edge simulation software with innovative wayfinding solutions, Ski Dubai has seen a remarkable leap forwards in customer flow, spatial awareness, and overall enjoyment. This success underscores the value of strategic partnerships and the application of advanced technologies in shaping exceptional experiences.
For inquiries about how our solutions can benefit your venue, please reach out to us:
Crowd and traffic management, safety and security are “hot topics” for those who are involved in the event industry nowadays. Attacks on soft targets and crowded places represent a significant challenge. Marketing and revenue generation are also high on the list of challenges. Our Digital Twin Software Application for Sports and Entertainment, ‘TruVenue’ is the solution for these challenges!
TruVenue is our NCS4 award-winning application enables users to simulate the entire fan journey, from purchasing their ticket to experiencing the event, and returning home. At InControl, we understand the importance of providing a non-technical, user-friendly interface for venue and event staff to use on a daily basis. As we learned that one-off simulation modeling is limited to specific events, particularly in terms of ingress/egress, circulation, or evacuation/sheltering.
TruVenue incorporates dynamic data such as ticketing, transit, parking, entry, movement, and sales, enriching each simulation of the digital twin.
TruVenue is a tool for fan enhancement, risk prediction/mitigation, cost savings and revenue generation. It begins by creating a digital twin based on your venue’s CAD/BIM data, incorporating details like capacity, obstacles, and layout. The application is then tailored to suit your specific venue requirements.
The success of a sports/entertainment enterprise event/venue can be measured by fan engagement, team/entertainer performance, revenue generation and a level of optimization of the venue that hosts the events. The challenges that come with optimization of venues vary from the design of the building construction/management (infrastructure) to operational issues such as pedestrian, traffic, transportation and logistics flows in and around the venue.
Through simulation, TruVenue helps visualize the impact of venue and event activities, including the movement of people, equipment, and operational processes, aiding in identifying potential procedural failures.
InControl’s TruVenue application gives you the ability to model and simulate infrastructures at various levels of detail, allowing you to analyze the behavior of these infrastructures under both routine and hazardous conditions. This includes scenarios such as traffic congestion, evacuations/sheltering, bombing/bomb threats, active shooter, terrorism, vehicle ramming, adverse weather, congestion during ingress, and equipment/supply logistics.
Simulations aid in visualizing risks, threats and in designing procedures for all staff and first responders, making it an excellent training, preparation, and evaluation tool. Simulations also serve to satisfy fire marshals’ requirements for validating safe person capacities, evacuation/sheltering times and prevent crushing.
With TruVenue, you have the option to change floor seating and obstacles yourself (once built), especially for stage layouts. You can load any earlier used settings to prefill the input on the following screens or you can click ‘Next’ to guide you through all relevant settings for the chosen scenario. The orange box represents event types that depend on your specific venue, while the blue box illustrates different scenarios within your venue. The specifics, of course, depend on the characteristics of the venue.
Different standard outputs are easily accessible by pressing the corresponding buttons based on the following settings for ingress, circulation, egress or emergency egress or sheltering:
Once the selections have been made and the simulation run various Outputs are available to pick:
2D & 3D Viewer
Density Maps
Travel time maps
Evacution & Shelter Times
Flow Counter
Level of Service
InControl’s TruVenue Application enables Sports & Entertainment Venues/Events to improve decision making processes and predictability through the following capabilities:
TruVenue empowers you to predict and manage a wide range of scenarios effectively. Whether you’re planning a new venue or optimizing an existing one, TruVenue provides the tools to safeguard stadiums, arenas, festivals, performing arts centers, transit hubs, and more.
Curious about how TruVenue can benefit your organization? Please contact us!