TAPAS: A multi-agent-based model for simulation of transport chains

Authored by Johan Holmgren, Paul Davidsson, Jan A. Persson, Linda Ramstedt

Date Published: 2012-04

DOI: 10.1016/j.simpat.2011.12.011

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: Java Agent Development Environment (JADE)

Model Documentation: Pseudocode Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

We present the Transportation And Production Agent-based Simulator (TAPAS), which is an agent-based model for simulation of transport chains that can be used, e.g., for analysis of transport-related policy and infrastructure measures. TAPAS is more powerful than traditional approaches to freight transport analysis, as it explicitly models production and customer demand, and it captures the interaction between individual transport chain actors, their heterogeneity and decision making processes, as well as time aspects. Whereas traditional approaches rely on assumed statistical correlation, TAPAS relies on causality, i.e., the focus is on the decisions and negotiations that lead to activities. TAPAS is composed of two connected layers, one that simulates the physical activities, e.g., production and transportation, and one that simulates the decision making and interaction between actors. We illustrate TAPAS with a scenario in which the consequences of three transport policy and infrastructure measures are studied. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tags

Multi-agent systems Decision-Making Freight transportation Multi-agent-based simulation Transport chain simulation