A History of Discrete Event Simulation Programming Languages

The history of simulation programming languages is organized as a progression in periods of similar developments. The five periods, spanning 1955-1986, are labeled: The Period of Search (1955-1960); The Advent (1961-1965); The Formative Period (1966-1970); The Expansional Period (1971-1978); and The Period of Consolidation and Regeneration (1979-1986). The focus is on recognizing the people and places that have made important contributions in addition to the nature of the contribution. A balance between comprehensive and in-depth treatment has been reached by providing more detailed description of those languages which have or have had major use. Over 30 languages are mentioned, and numerous variations are described in the major contributors. A concluding summary notes the concepts and techniques either originating with simulation programming languages or given significant visibility by them

Modeling Human Gaming Playing Behavior and Reward/Penalty Mechanism using Discrete Event Simulation (DES)

Humans are remarkably complex and unpredictable; however, while predicting human behavior can be problematic, there are methods such as modeling and simulation that can be used to predict probable futures of human decisions. The present study analyzes the possibility of replacing human subjects with data resulting from pure models. Decisions made by college students in a multi-level mystery-solving game under 3 different gaming conditions are compared with the data collected from a predictive sequential Markov-Decision Process model. In addition, differences in participants’ data influenced by the three different conditions (additive, subtractive, control) were analyzed. The test results strongly suggest that the data gathered from the model can possibly represent the ones gathered from the human participants in a practical experiment

More-Space – A Simulation Tool for University Room Management

As proposed in various studies, educational facilities hold a high potential yield for improvement of room utilization. The goal of the project “MoreSpace” at Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) was to develop a hybrid modeling approach which helps to increase the efficiency of the university’s space utilization. Besides coupling of Discrete Event Simulation (DEVS), Agent-based (AB) methods and Cellular Automata (CA), successful deployment of such a model requires a thorough integration within the peripheral system. Which in turn leads to preconditions that have to be met, (e.g. by input - data, visualization of results, dissemination, etc.). This paper covers the methods applied for analyses of the model and the peripheral system, which enable model integration. For this is necessary to also focus on the psycho-social layer of the institution, as it is this layer that often leads to rejection of otherwise “good” solutions by the people within institutions. The paper further describes a deployment matrix which puts the simulations - models mode of operation (i.e. one time utilization for consulting, recurrent and frequent utilization) into context with met preconditions and the required depth of system integration. This allows it to estimate whether a model can be deployed as intended or not; with alternatives being either a transformation of the system, reformulation of the question(s) towards the model or - in the worst case - abortion of the deployment process. In the latter case the value of the deployment matrix lies within an early judgment of the situation saving resources that would have been spend otherwise. In addition it is possible to use these for developing alternative solutions in support of the intentional goals

Integrating heterogeneous distributed COTS discrete-event simulation packages: An emerging standards-based approach

This paper reports on the progress made toward the emergence of standards to support the integration of heterogeneous discrete-event simulations (DESs) created in specialist support tools called commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) discrete-event simulation packages (CSPs). The general standard for heterogeneous integration in this area has been developed from research in distributed simulation and is the IEEE 1516 standard The High Level Architecture (HLA). However, the specific needs of heterogeneous CSP integration require that the HLA is augmented by additional complementary standards. These are the suite of CSP interoperability (CSPI) standards being developed under the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO-http://www.sisostds.org) by the CSPI Product Development Group (CSPI-PDG). The suite consists of several interoperability reference models (IRMs) that outline different integration needs of CSPI, interoperability frameworks (IFs) that define the HLA-based solution to each IRM, appropriate data exchange representations to specify the data exchanged in an IF, and benchmarks termed CSP emulators (CSPEs). This paper contributes to the development of the Type I IF that is intended to represent the HLA-based solution to the problem outlined by the Type I IRM (asynchronous entity passing) by developing the entity transfer specification (ETS) data exchange representation. The use of the ETS in an illustrative case study implemented using a prototype CSPE is shown. This case study also allows us to highlight the importance of event granularity and lookahead in the performance and development of the Type I IF, and to discuss possible methods to automate the capture of appropriate values of lookahead

An investigation on test driven discrete event simulation

This paper deals with the application of modern software development tools on simulation development. Recently, Agile Software Development (ASD) methods enjoy an increasing popularity. eXtreme Programming (XP) techniques, one of the techniques which belong to the ASD group of methods is a software development method which improves software quality and responsiveness of software projects through introducing short development cycles and a Test Driven Development (TDD) philosophy throughout the development. In this paper, we particularly pay attention to the application of the TDD by approaching simulation development from a test-first perspective. This study consists of a feasibility study of applying the TDD technique in simulation development in its various levels, say, acceptance and unit testing. Moreover, a simulation case study of a surgical ward has been considered, designed and implemented using the AnyLogic simulation toolkit. Our study differs from the mainstream in many ways. It addresses the feasibility of Test-Driven Simulation Development in Visual Interactive Modelling and Simulation (VIMS) environments as well as providing an insight into how the test-first concept can further help with the choice of components and acceptance testing

An investigation on test driven discrete event simulation

This paper deals with the application of modern software development tools on simulation development. Recently, Agile Software Development (ASD) methods enjoy an increasing popularity. eXtreme Programming (XP) techniques, one of the techniques which belong to the ASD group of methods is a software development method which improves software quality and responsiveness of software projects through introducing short development cycles and a Test Driven Development (TDD) philosophy throughout the development. In this paper, we particularly pay attention to the application of the TDD by approaching simulation development from a test-first perspective. This study consists of a feasibility study of applying the TDD technique in simulation development in its various levels, say, acceptance and unit testing. Moreover, a simulation case study of a surgical ward has been considered, designed and implemented using the AnyLogic simulation toolkit. Our study differs from the mainstream in many ways. It addresses the feasibility of Test-Driven Simulation Development in Visual Interactive Modelling and Simulation (VIMS) environments as well as providing an insight into how the test-first concept can further help with the choice of components and acceptance testing

Warrior vehicle fleet sustainment using intelligent agent simulation

2nd International Through-Life Engineering Services Conference (TESConf 2013), 5-6 November 2013, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, UKThe Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle(IFV) is one of the key tracked combat vehicles in the UK Army. It was first introduced in 1988. A modernisation programme is currently underway to enhance 643 vehicles to serve to 2040 and beyond. The Warrior is typical of military assets that have to be acquired, maintained, supported and deployed. Effective materials and logistics support for the life of the asset is necessary to give the army a capability to defend the country and keep world peace. In the military world, events are uncertain. An asset can be used relatively lightly in peace time for training and readiness preparation. When it is deployed, it is used intensely and probably in situations not foreseen in the original design specification. Compared with a commercial vehicle that is designed to be continuously heavily used, military uncertainties make the planning for spares and repairs very difficult. Responding to the dynamics of military logistics, inventory planners have to make decisions on how many spares to order from the manufacturer and when, where to store the spares, and when to send them to the units. Maintenance decisions are also made by military engineers to pull vehicles into depots for scheduled maintenance, deal with unexpected repairs, and make sure all people, equipment and spares are coordinated for the maintenance work. Planning for the worst case scenarios provides enhanced resilience to military needs, but is likely to be unnecessarily costly. Compared with an inventory management problem that has steady demand and supply, optimal military logistics could be better served by adapting the behaviour of the planners to suit the dynamics of the deployment scenarios. This paper reports on a military logistics sustainment model built using an agent based simulation platform, with the Warrior vehicle fleet as the case study. The model proves an effective tool to help military planners evaluate different spares inventory policies to match deployment demands

Design and Planning of Manufacturing Networks for Mass Customisation and Personalisation: Challenges and Outlook

AbstractManufacturers and service providers are called to design, plan and operate globalized manufacturing networks, addressing to challenges such as ever-decreasing lifecycles and increased product complexity. These factors, caused primarily by mass customisation and demand volatility, generate a number of issues related to the design and planning of manufacturing systems and networks, which are not holistically tackled in industrial and academic practices. The mapping of production performance requirements to process and production planning requires automated closed-loop control systems, which current systems fail to deliver. Technology-based business approaches are an enabler for increased enterprise performance. Towards that end, the issues discussed in this paper focus on challenges in the design and planning of manufacturing networks in a mass customization and personalization landscape. The development of methods and tools for supporting the dynamic configuration and optimal routing of manufacturing networks and facilities under cost, time, complexity and environmental constraints to support product-service personalization are promoted