Regulation function of the environment in agent-based simulation

Abstract

The notion of environment as a first class abstraction in Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) has affirmed itself both as a necessary element of the related models and systems, and as useful source of concepts and mechanisms for their design and implementation. However, the functions and responsibilities that the environment should accomplish in different application contexts are still under debate in the agent research community. This paper is focused on agent-based simulation and in particular on the regulation function of the environment, which is a crucial factor supporting the enforcement of the required level of realism in the dynamics generated by the simulation system. In particular, the paper shows that the MAS based simulation context provides features that require a peculiar balance between agent autonomy and environment control on the overall system dynamics. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.