Erin Morrow's MassMotion Simulates Crowds

Over the past decade, Erin Morrow has become an expert on the movements of the masses. He’s a transportation planning consultant and focuses on helping architects understand how crowds will flow through the airports, hotels, and skyscrapers they dream up. Morrow predicts how many people will line up at Starbucks during commuter hours and determines where to place an escalator to minimize bottlenecks.

Morrow ’s analytical weapon is a software package he created called MassMotion. It takes 3D computer models of buildings and fills them with “agents,” virtual stick figures that represent people. These avatars aren’t mindless and in fact have specific personalities. Some meander. Others are busybodies in a rush. The agents will linger in front of signs and puzzle over directions, and they’ll also grab smokes together outside of exits. “They all have certain things they care about,” says Morrow.