Building a hybrid DEVS and GRASS model using a composable cellular automaton

Abstract

Modeling and simulation is pervasive throughout many different disciplines. As computing technology has provided more capability, the systems being modeled and simulated have grown larger and more complex. Often times, these large systems are managed as interacting subsystems. When it is necessary for the simulation to allow disparate subsystems to maintain their independence, then a hybrid model of the subsystems should be used. Furthermore, to ease the burden of verification and validation of simulation results, a proven system theoretical modeling specification should be used. However, many communities have already adopted nonsystem theoretical software solutions and established a group of domain experts familiar with these tools. This paper provides two things: a formal approach to building a hybrid model, and a discussion of how to incorporate a nonsystem theoretical software implementation into a proven framework. The first is done through the implementation of a Knowledge Interchange Broker (KIB) as an Interaction Model (IM). The second is accomplished by exemplifying the use of the IM in an agent-environment hybrid model. In the hybrid model, the agent is implemented in the Discrete-event System (DEVS) specification and the environment is implemented in the Geographical Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) using a Composable Cellular Automaton (CCA) specification. This concept has been successfully applied to both example models and an interdisciplinary research project where the interactions between human activities and landscape processes are studied.