{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:41:05Z","timestamp":1760060465333,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,24]],"date-time":"2025-08-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755993600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Shanghai Sailing Program","award":["23YF1416300"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23YF1416300"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Symmetry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The growing participation of elderly individuals in cruise tourism introduces asymmetry in passenger mobility and perception, posing challenges for onboard emergency evacuation. To address this, an interactive cellular automata model that enables dynamic human\u2013signage interaction, incorporating age-dependent variations in walking speed and visual field. The model simulates passenger behavior during evacuation by integrating a static potential field, signage attraction, and directional guidance mechanisms. A bi-objective optimization framework is proposed to determine the optimal signage layout for symmetrical cruise ship theaters, balancing evacuation effectiveness across age groups with design constraints such as economic considerations. The optimization uses a genetic algorithm through simulation experiments under varying age compositions and smoke concentration levels. Results indicate that age-sensitive and interactive signage design substantially enhances evacuation efficiency, particularly for elderly passengers and under limited visibility conditions. This study offers practical insights into signage layout strategies for enhancing shipboard evacuation safety in diverse demographic and environmentally complex scenarios.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/sym17091383","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]],"date-time":"2025-08-25T00:09:32Z","timestamp":1756080572000},"page":"1383","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Optimizing Evacuation Signage Layouts in Symmetrical Cruise Ship Theaters Considering Passenger Mobility and Visual Asymmetries"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7050-949X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"You","family":"Kong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Transport & Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China"}]},{"given":"Kaibo","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Transport & Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China"}]},{"given":"Haihong","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Transport & Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3101-3907","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bo","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Transportation Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China"}]},{"given":"Ruijie","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Transportation and Logistics, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Cruise Lines International Association (2025, June 24). 2024 State of the Cruise Industry Report. 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