TABLE OF CONTENTS Manuel Gentile, Massimo Paolucci, and Roberto Sacile
Simulation is commonly used in agent research as a way to validate the design and to analyze the influence of different design alternatives in the performance of systems. This chapter deals with agent-based simulation and, in particular, with the problem of building and simulating models of manufacturing systems (or parts of them) with a prevalent multiagent-based component. The specific features of this kind of simulation model are discussed also with reference to traditional simulation approaches adopted in manufacturing and to available agent-based simulation frameworks. The chapter concludes by proposing an application of multiagent-based simulation to tackle the problem of the configuration of the multiagent scheduling system employed in the fictitious PS-Bikes company.
This chapter deals with agent-based simulation (ABS) in the attempt to illustrate what characterizes and what differentiates a multiagent-based simulation (MABS) model from other conventional (i.e., non agent-based) simulation models. It must be underlined from the outset that we are focusing on computer simulation in particular, on simulation applications in manufacturing. As a matter of fact, simulation is a very broad field that provides useful and often essential insights into a wide range of scientific and application sectors. In the last 5 years, the interest of multiagent system (MAS) and simulation scientists in agent-based simulation has grown steadily; the first international workshop on MASs and MABSs was promoted by the International Conference on MAS (ICMAS) in Paris in 1998, and the first conference on agent-based simulation (ABS) of...
