NetLogoR: a package to build and run spatially explicit agent-based models in R

Abstract

NetLogoR is an R package to build and run spatially explicit agent-based models (SE-ABMs) using the R language. SE-ABMs are models that simulate the fate of entities at the individual level within a spatial context and where patterns emerge at the population level. NetLogoR follows the same framework as the NetLogo software (Wilensky 1999). Rather than a call function to use the NetLogo software, NetLogoR is a translation into the R language of the structure and functions of NetLogo. Models built with NetLogoR are written in R language and are run on the R platform; no other software or language has to be involved. NetLogoR provides new R classes to define model agent objects and functions to implement spatially explicit agent-based models in the R environment. Users of this package benefit from the fast and easy coding provided by the highly developed NetLogo framework, coupled with the versatility, power and massive resources of the R language.