Special Issue on Agent-directed Simulation

The premise of the agent paradigm, its related theory and methodologies together with advances in multilevel modeling of complex systems of interactions are opening new frontiers for advancing the physical, natural, social, military, and information sciences and engineering. Recent trends have made it clear that simulation model complexity will continue to increase dramatically in the coming decades. The dynamic and distributed nature of simulation applications, the significance of exploratory analysis of complex scientific phenomena, and the need for modeling the micro-level interactions, collaboration, and cooperation among real-world entities is bringing a shift in the way systems are being conceptualized. Using intelligent agents in simulation models is based on the idea that it is possible to represent the behavior of active entities in the world in terms of the interactions of an assembly of agents with their own operational autonomy. The possibility to model complex situations whose overall structures emerge from interactions between individual entities and to cause structures on the macro level to emerge from the models at the micro level is making agent paradigm a critical enabler in modeling and simulation of complex adaptive systems. To this end, the purpose of this special issue is to facilitate dissemination of the most recent advancements in the theory, application, and toolkits of agent-directed simulation. Agent-directed simulation consists of three distinct, yet related areas that can be grouped under two categories as follows: (1) Simulation for Agents (agent simulation),