Tracking human mobility at mass gathering events using WISP

Abstract

Mass gathering events, where thousands of people meet in a confined area for a defined period of time, pose a severe strain on the safety and security of the gathering crowds. The process of managing and controlling crowd movements has been a challenge. Lack of good management and planning of high crowd density with restricted points of access may end up with tragic disasters and mortalities. With the significant advancement of wireless networks, mobile technologies, and communication protocols, many host organizers are embracing the use of modern technologies to assist in managing, controlling, and tracking crowds to ensure their security and safety. In this paper, we propose a novel framework based on Wireless Identification and Sensing Platform (WISP) for tracking, monitoring, and managing human movement at mass gathering events. Individuals are offered WISP tags that store their basic identity and contact information. WISP readers and writers are positioned at various locations during a mass gathering event to monitor and control crowd movement. A central management system utilizes the collected data to provide assistance to crowd managers and trigger potential alerts.