Agent action diagram: Toward a model for emergency management system

Abstract

Agent-based modeling (ABM) has become a useful tool in describing microcosmic action mode of emergency management system (EMS). However, one of key challenges in multi-agent model for EMS could be how to prevent inconsistency between the simulation model established by technicians of computer simulation engineering and the conceptual model established by domain experts. In this paper, a novel multi-view modeling paradigm, agent action diagram (AAD), which has a normalized conceptual model driven architecture and combines the high-layer conceptual model and simulation model, is proposed by establishing its rule symbol system to resolve the above technology problem. Visualization representations of AADs including agent entity organization diagram, agent entity action attribute diagram, single-agent action diagram and multi-agent action diagram are presented. These different views depend on each other according to their functions and form a mutually coupled entirety, thus giving a complete description of EMS with different perspectives. Subsequently, agent model template is constructed, thus affording an automatic mechanism of transforming this graphical conceptual model to its simulation model. Finally, scenarios of emergency command for a great traffic accident and an explosion of a chemical plant are set and two case studies of EMS modeling are implemented, thus verifying feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach. This fact shows that the approach has more advantages in model credibility and development efficiency compared with the traditional ABM paradigm.