Agent-based modeling: An introduction and primer.

Agents are self-contained objects within a software model that are capable of autonomously interacting with the environment and with other agents. Basing a model around agents (building an agent-based model, or ABM) allows the user to build complex models from the bottom up by specifying agent behaviors and the environment within which they operate. This is often a more natural perspective than the system-level perspective required of other modeling paradigms, and it allows greater flexibility to use agents in novel applications. This flexibility makes them ideal as virtual laboratories and testbeds, particularly in the social sciences where direct experimentation may be infeasible or unethical. ABMs have been applied successfully in a broad variety of areas, including heuristic search methods, social science models, combat modeling, and supply chains. This tutorial provides an introduction to tools and resources for prospective modelers, and illustrates ABM flexibility with a basic war-gaming example.