Architecture of a discrete-event and agent-based crisis response simulation model

This paper presents an architecture of a discrete-event and agent-based crisis response simulation model. In multi-agent systems as a computational organisation, agents are modelled and implemented separately from the environmental model. We follow this perspective and propose an architecture in which the crisis environment is modelled using discrete events and entities, and the crisis response organisation is modelled as a multi-agent system. The combination of both models allows for independent modifications of the response organisation and the scenario, resulting in a testbed that allows experimenting with different coordination mechanisms to respond to the same scenario. In particular, we provide the results of an experimental design where an initial screening shows the impact that different coordination mechanisms have on the overall performance of the response.