Development of a User-Interactive Agent Simulation System with the Blackboard Architectural Pattern

摘要

Involving the user in a simulated world introduces a new prospective in the agent-based simulation research. We propose a method of using a game development platform in designing a multiagent system based on the Blackboard architectural pattern, which provides a practical scenario to traffic simulation by showing the interaction between the pedestrians and the vehicles. Besides generating the log on the incidents happening and letting the user observe the simulation, our system also allows the user to get involved in the simulated world as a driver of a vehicle to interact with other cars and people walking around. The issues in analyzing the requirements of agents and implementing agents in an existing platform introduce a new challenge in software design. This work is a result of our agent-based software engineering research and reports a design method of integrating an existing platform with an architectural pattern to realize agent-based simulation in hosting different types of drivers and pedestrians in a simulated city blocks.