OpenSim: a framework for integrating agent-based models and simulation components

Abstract

The growing use of agent-based modelling and simulation for complex systems analysis has led to the availability of numerous published models. However, reuse of existing models in new simulations, for studying new problems, is largely not attempted. This is mainly because there is no systematic way of integrating agent-based models, that deals with the nuances of complex interactions and overlaps in concepts between components, in the shared environment. In this paper we present an open source framework, called OpenSim, that allows such integrated simulations to be built in a modular way, by linking together agent-based and other models. OpenSim is designed to be easy to use, and we give examples of the kinds of simulations we have built with this framework.