Constraint Exploration and Envelope of Simulation Trajectories
Abstract
The implicit theory that a simulation represents is precisely not in the individual choices but rather in the 'envelope' of possible trajectories - what is important is the shape of the whole envelope. Typically a huge amount of computation is required when experimenting with factors bearing on the dynamics of a simulation to tease out what affects the shape of this envelope. In this paper we present a methodology aimed at systematically exploring this envelope. We propose a method for searching for tendencies and proving their necessity relative to a range of parameterisations of the model and agents' choices, and to the logic of the simulation language. The exploration consists of a forward chaining generation of the trajectories associated to and constrained by such a range of parameterisations and choices. Additionally, we propose a computational procedure that helps implement this exploration by translating a Multi Agent System simulation into a constraint-based search over possible trajectories by 'compiling' the simulation rules into a more specific form, namely by partitioning the simulation rules using appropriate modularity in the simulation. An example of this procedure is exhibited. Keywords: Constraint Search, Constraint Logic Programming, Proof, Emergence, Tendencies
Cite
@article{arxiv.cs/0007001,
title = {Constraint Exploration and Envelope of Simulation Trajectories},
author = {Oswaldo Teran and Bruce Edmonds and Steve Wallis},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cs/0007001},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
15 pages, To be presented at the First Workshop on Rule-Based Constraint Reasoning and Programming at the First International Conference on Computational Logic, London, UK, 24th to 28th July, 2000