13,241 research outputs found
Design Implications of Model-Generated Urban Data
Published by the Architectural Research Centers Consortium under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.The staggering complexity of urban environment and long timescales in the causal mechanisms prevent designers to fully understand the implications of their design interventions. In order to investigate these causal mechanisms and provide measurable trends, a model that partially replicates urban complexity has been developed. Using a cellular automata approach to model land use types and markets for products, services, labour and property, the model has enabled numerical experiments to be carried out. The results revealed causal mechanisms and performance metrics obtained in a much shorter timescale than the real-life processes, pointing to a number of design implications for urban environments.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Practical applications of probabilistic model checking to communication protocols
Probabilistic model checking is a formal verification technique for the analysis of systems that exhibit stochastic behaviour. It has been successfully employed in an extremely wide array of application domains including, for example, communication and multimedia protocols, security and power management. In this chapter we focus on the applicability of these techniques to the analysis of communication protocols. An analysis of the performance of such systems must successfully incorporate several crucial aspects, including concurrency between multiple components, real-time constraints and randomisation. Probabilistic model checking, in particular using probabilistic timed automata, is well suited to such an analysis. We provide an overview of this area, with emphasis on an industrially relevant case study: the IEEE 802.3 (CSMA/CD) protocol. We also discuss two contrasting approaches to the implementation of probabilistic model checking, namely those based on numerical computation and those based on discrete-event simulation. Using results from the two tools PRISM and APMC, we summarise the advantages, disadvantages and trade-offs associated with these techniques
Can geocomputation save urban simulation? Throw some agents into the mixture, simmer and wait ...
There are indications that the current generation of simulation models in practical,
operational uses has reached the limits of its usefulness under existing specifications.
The relative stasis in operational urban modeling contrasts with simulation efforts in
other disciplines, where techniques, theories, and ideas drawn from computation and
complexity studies are revitalizing the ways in which we conceptualize, understand,
and model real-world phenomena. Many of these concepts and methodologies are
applicable to operational urban systems simulation. Indeed, in many cases, ideas from
computation and complexity studies—often clustered under the collective term of
geocomputation, as they apply to geography—are ideally suited to the simulation of
urban dynamics. However, there exist several obstructions to their successful use in
operational urban geographic simulation, particularly as regards the capacity of these
methodologies to handle top-down dynamics in urban systems.
This paper presents a framework for developing a hybrid model for urban geographic
simulation and discusses some of the imposing barriers against innovation in this
field. The framework infuses approaches derived from geocomputation and
complexity with standard techniques that have been tried and tested in operational
land-use and transport simulation. Macro-scale dynamics that operate from the topdown
are handled by traditional land-use and transport models, while micro-scale
dynamics that work from the bottom-up are delegated to agent-based models and
cellular automata. The two methodologies are fused in a modular fashion using a
system of feedback mechanisms. As a proof-of-concept exercise, a micro-model of
residential location has been developed with a view to hybridization. The model
mixes cellular automata and multi-agent approaches and is formulated so as to
interface with meso-models at a higher scale
Integrated urban evolutionary modeling
Cellular automata models have proved rather popular as frameworks for simulating the physical growth of cities. Yet their brief history has been marked by a lack of application to real policy contexts, notwithstanding their obvious relevance to topical problems such as urban sprawl. Traditional urban models which emphasize transportation and demography continue to prevail despite their limitations in simulating realistic urban dynamics. To make progress, it is necessary to link CA models to these more traditional forms, focusing on the explicit simulation of the socio-economic attributes of land use activities as well as spatial interaction. There are several ways of tackling this but all are based on integration using various forms of strong and loose coupling which enable generically different models to be connected. Such integration covers many different features of urban simulation from data and software integration to internet operation, from interposing demand with the supply of urban land to enabling growth, location, and distributive mechanisms within such models to be reconciled. Here we will focus on developin
A Web-Based Tool for Analysing Normative Documents in English
Our goal is to use formal methods to analyse normative documents written in
English, such as privacy policies and service-level agreements. This requires
the combination of a number of different elements, including information
extraction from natural language, formal languages for model representation,
and an interface for property specification and verification. We have worked on
a collection of components for this task: a natural language extraction tool, a
suitable formalism for representing such documents, an interface for building
models in this formalism, and methods for answering queries asked of a given
model. In this work, each of these concerns is brought together in a web-based
tool, providing a single interface for analysing normative texts in English.
Through the use of a running example, we describe each component and
demonstrate the workflow established by our tool
Statistical Model Checking for Stochastic Hybrid Systems
This paper presents novel extensions and applications of the UPPAAL-SMC model
checker. The extensions allow for statistical model checking of stochastic
hybrid systems. We show how our race-based stochastic semantics extends to
networks of hybrid systems, and indicate the integration technique applied for
implementing this semantics in the UPPAAL-SMC simulation engine. We report on
two applications of the resulting tool-set coming from systems biology and
energy aware buildings.Comment: In Proceedings HSB 2012, arXiv:1208.315
Principles and Concepts of Agent-Based Modelling for Developing Geospatial Simulations
The aim of this paper is to outline fundamental concepts and principles of the Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) paradigm, with particular reference to the development of geospatial simulations. The paper begins with a brief definition of modelling, followed by a classification of model types, and a comment regarding a shift (in certain circumstances) towards modelling systems at the individual-level. In particular, automata approaches (e.g. Cellular Automata, CA, and ABM) have been particularly popular, with ABM moving to the fore. A definition of agents and agent-based models is given; identifying their advantages and disadvantages, especially in relation to geospatial modelling. The potential use of agent-based models is discussed, and how-to instructions for developing an agent-based model are provided. Types of simulation / modelling systems available for ABM are defined, supplemented with criteria to consider before choosing a particular system for a modelling endeavour. Information pertaining to a selection of simulation / modelling systems (Swarm, MASON, Repast, StarLogo, NetLogo, OBEUS, AgentSheets and AnyLogic) is provided, categorised by their licensing policy (open source, shareware / freeware and proprietary systems). The evaluation (i.e. verification, calibration, validation and analysis) of agent-based models and their output is examined, and noteworthy applications are discussed.Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are a particularly useful medium for representing model input and output of a geospatial nature. However, GIS are not well suited to dynamic modelling (e.g. ABM). In particular, problems of representing time and change within GIS are highlighted. Consequently, this paper explores the opportunity of linking (through coupling or integration / embedding) a GIS with a simulation / modelling system purposely built, and therefore better suited to supporting the requirements of ABM. This paper concludes with a synthesis of the discussion that has proceeded. The aim of this paper is to outline fundamental concepts and principles of the Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) paradigm, with particular reference to the development of geospatial simulations. The paper begins with a brief definition of modelling, followed by a classification of model types, and a comment regarding a shift (in certain circumstances) towards modelling systems at the individual-level. In particular, automata approaches (e.g. Cellular Automata, CA, and ABM) have been particularly popular, with ABM moving to the fore. A definition of agents and agent-based models is given; identifying their advantages and disadvantages, especially in relation to geospatial modelling. The potential use of agent-based models is discussed, and how-to instructions for developing an agent-based model are provided. Types of simulation / modelling systems available for ABM are defined, supplemented with criteria to consider before choosing a particular system for a modelling endeavour. Information pertaining to a selection of simulation / modelling systems (Swarm, MASON, Repast, StarLogo, NetLogo, OBEUS, AgentSheets and AnyLogic) is provided, categorised by their licensing policy (open source, shareware / freeware and proprietary systems). The evaluation (i.e. verification, calibration, validation and analysis) of agent-based models and their output is examined, and noteworthy applications are discussed.Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are a particularly useful medium for representing model input and output of a geospatial nature. However, GIS are not well suited to dynamic modelling (e.g. ABM). In particular, problems of representing time and change within GIS are highlighted. Consequently, this paper explores the opportunity of linking (through coupling or integration / embedding) a GIS with a simulation / modelling system purposely built, and therefore better suited to supporting the requirements of ABM. This paper concludes with a synthesis of the discussion that has proceeded
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