Professor at the Academy of Physical Education (AWF) in Katowice, Dr Bogdan Bacik is co-author of an article in the prestigious journal Science. It describes the discovery of scientists from Poland and the UK proving that groups of people, passing each other in a seemingly disorderly manner, tend to spontaneously form lanes.
The shape of these lanes depends on the conditions the group is in and the goals it is pursuing. A lane of a different shape, for example, will be followed by groups of pedestrians in a crosswalk heading in opposite directions, while others will be followed by groups of people entering and leaving buildings. The patterns that the lanes create are conic curves, not circles or straight lines.
The results of the study may find applications in many scientific disciplines in the fields of biology and physics, as well as having a significant impact on, for example, improving the safety of people when organising large gatherings, developing evacuation routes or controlling panicked crowds.
