What-if game simulation in agent-based strategic production planners

In the nowadays highly unstable manufacturing market, companies are faced, on a daily basis, with important strategic decisions, such as “does the company has the necessary capacity to accept a high volume order?” or “what measures need to be implemented if the product demand increases x% a year?”. Decision-makers, i.e. company’s managers, rely on their experience and insights supported by classical tools to take such decisions. Classical mathematical solvers or agent-based systems are typical architectural solutions to implement strategic planning tools to support decision-makers on this important task. Within the ARUM (Adaptive Production Management) project, a hybrid strategic planning tool was specified and developed, combining the optimization features of classical solvers with the flexibility and agility of agent systems. This paper briefly presents such architecture and focuses on the generation of the “what-if game” mechanism to support the generation of more intelligent and dynamic planning solutions.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007- 2013 under grant agreement n° 314056.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Simlandscape, a design and research support system for local planning, based on the scenario method and Parcel-Based GIS

Many authors mention gaps between planning and reality (Salet, 2000; Wheeler, 2002), modelling and reality (Parker, 2003), and between modelling and planning (Clark, 2003). The first gap refers to inadequate planning models and instruments and the second one to the yet inadequate simulation models. The last before mentioned gap refers to cultural and ontological differences between these fields. There seems to be a kind of hate-love relationship: there is a promise of synergy, but also a considerable communication problem. Inside planning there is an ongoing debate on what qualities are important, how to deal with stakeholders and how to implement plans. This debate stretches from the functionalistic modernism to identity oriented comprehensive new regionalism. Planning concepts are in essence instruments for governance and therefore developed for and focused on control and intervention of specific aspects of spatial development. The root of planning is about the creation of the future and not about future research. This focus is one of the reasons why so many regional plans fail to be implemented. Modelling is focused on system behaviour; it is focused on scientific future research. Through its scientific approach and still inapt models, modelling however generates results that many planners do not recognize as practical from their daily perspective. They mistrust the models and find their grid based maps primal. Planning and modelling are complementary and therefore in principle synergetic. Modelling could provide planning, its context and moneylender, with a powerful evaluation tool. For this to happen however planning has to be more open to landscape as an autonomous system and must develop consistent (scenario) approaches. Now, planning models are mostly not adequate for interactive scenario development and simulation. And modelling has, next to improving performace, to pay more attention to practical planning issues (spatial quality and practise data) and language (catographic products and scales). This way they could make a beautiful couple, provided they work on themselves. What is required is a kind of intermediate or integrative scenario and typology approach. Simlandscape is a methodological toolbox for land use planning. It includes research and development, evaluation and monitoring of panoramic land use scenarios. It has been specifically developed to do the before mentioned job. Simlandscape was the object of a recently finished R&D project. It is designed to accommodate future research and interactive scenario development (explorative interactive planning) on a local and regional scale. The toolbox is based on an ontological transformation model of how landscape changes. Key elements are that Simlandscape is parcel based and actor and object orientated. The innovative aspects of Simlandscape have to do with the effect of the key elements of the model – an integration of land property and –exploitation in a landscape layer model in combination with a cadastral data model - for the comprehensiveness of the tool with respect to research activities, plan phases, qualities and stakeholders.

Agents for educational games and simulations

This book consists mainly of revised papers that were presented at the Agents for Educational Games and Simulation (AEGS) workshop held on May 2, 2011, as part of the Autonomous Agents and MultiAgent Systems (AAMAS) conference in Taipei, Taiwan. The 12 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from various submissions. The papers are organized topical sections on middleware applications, dialogues and learning, adaption and convergence, and agent applications

Research and education in management of large- scale technical programs. Appendix A - Uses and misuses of computers in urban affairs. Appendix B - Build, a community development simulation game. Appendix C - Urban simulation and gaming, preliminary experience and perspectives. Appendix D - Public attitudes toward programs of large- scale technological change, some reflections and policy prescriptions Semiannual progress report

Research and education in management of large scale technical programs - computers in urban affair

Affect and believability in game characters:a review of the use of affective computing in games

Virtual agents are important in many digital environments. Designing a character that highly engages users in terms of interaction is an intricate task constrained by many requirements. One aspect that has gained more attention recently is the effective dimension of the agent. Several studies have addressed the possibility of developing an affect-aware system for a better user experience. Particularly in games, including emotional and social features in NPCs adds depth to the characters, enriches interaction possibilities, and combined with the basic level of competence, creates a more appealing game. Design requirements for emotionally intelligent NPCs differ from general autonomous agents with the main goal being a stronger player-agent relationship as opposed to problem solving and goal assessment. Nevertheless, deploying an affective module into NPCs adds to the complexity of the architecture and constraints. In addition, using such composite NPC in games seems beyond current technology, despite some brave attempts. However, a MARPO-type modular architecture would seem a useful starting point for adding emotions

Quality is not strategy : Nash equilibrium and international market entry

Version of RecordA recent Harvard Business Review article by Suarez and Lanzolla (2001) entitled the Half-truth of First Mover Advantage argued that this is a business concept which has so much intuitive appeal that its validity is almost taken for granted. In the following paper, we illustrate how typical applications of game theory to describe first mover advantage in the context of international markets are generally set up use an improper theoretical framework and compare incommensurable qualities and quantities. We then review the work of Porter (1996) and others with respect to sustainable competitive advantage and suggest that the Nash equilibrium may provide some guidance as to the kinds of circumstances in which a profitable first mover advantage may or may not be obtainable when entering international markets.Vos Fellman, P., Nugent N., Vos Post, J., & Doyon, D. (2007, October). Quality is not strategy : Nash equilibrium and international market entry. Presented at the Academy of International Business U.S. Northeast Chapter Regional Meeting, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.ed

City Energy Demand Simulation (CEDS) Feasibility Study

CEDS - The City Energy Demand Simulation - provides cities and local authorities with the means to visualise future energy demand (including gas and electricity) for any geographic area ranging from a street, to a district, to the city itself, including both residential and industrial/commercial energy demand.CEDS allows planners and decision makers to easily visualise the impacts of alternative demand and supply side energy investment strategies on overall energy costs, emissions, and fuel poverty levels. This will be important for cities and planners because the innovative features of CEDS will enable planners to understand the impacts of new energy technology deployments on the energy demand of buildings. - CEDS can demonstrate the relative economic and environmental attractiveness of local energy supply schemes such as district heating combined with power versus importing electricity from the grid; - CEDS can illuminate the impacts of technology deployment by social geography within the city boundaries Therefore, CEDS will allow cities and local authorities to clearly identify how to deploy limited capital budgets to greatest effect when developing low carbon, cost effective local energy infrastructure. By modelling future demand, supply and cost scenarios, cities will be able to prioritise the development of local energy assets, such as district heating networks, energy from waste, retrofit and new build locations. CEDS will enable cities to understand how they can deliver on their priorities for ensuring there are cost effective locations for business and industry, with a secure supply, whilst also helping tackle fuel poverty and reducing carbon emissions and energy costs