Influence of movement motivations on spatial and temporal features: a case study of preschool children passing through a right-angled corridor

Pedestrian dynamics of preschool children in facilities has become a rapidly growing research topic due to its significant implications for children's safety. This work investigates the movement characteristics of 40 preschool children passing through a 1.0 m wide right-angled corridor under low and high motivations. Under low and high motivation, preschool children were asked to walk through the corridor as normal and run through the corridor quickly as if in an emergency, respectively. The fundamental diagrams, velocity directions, passing positions, and spatial distributions are studied. Individual speed decreases with increasing density, both in normal and emergency conditions. In the turning region, children prefer running near the inner boundaries but walking along the outer boundaries. Running children keep a greater distance both from the boundaries and from other children, compared to walking children. The findings could help enhance the comprehension of the movement characteristics of preschool children.