Computer models could help Wal-Mart with safety plan

Wal-Mart has agreed to overhaul its statewide safety plan as part of a settlement to avoid criminal prosecution in the case of a worker who was trampled to death by post-Thanksving Day shoppers in Valley Stream last November. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who brokered the deal, said she hopes Wal-Mart's new plan will set a "gold standard" for other retailers to put in place on days when they offer big sales.

But how do you prepare for an event as rare and unpredictable as a crowd suddenly going out of control in what is ordinarily a perfectly calm location?

One way is to use computer modeling and simulation. We can direct programmed rules to computer-animated characters and observe their behavior in the appropriate scenarios.

Frederic D. McKenzie is associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Old Dominion University.