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Paper: GeoKey – open infrastructure for community mapping and science

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The special issue of the Human Computation Journal (see the details of the editorial here), summarises the result from the EU FP7 “Citizen Cyberlab” project. One of the outcomes of the project is the development of the GeoKey platform for participatory mapping. Therefore, a paper that was written with Oliver Roick and Claire Ellul explains … Continue reading Paper: GeoKey – open infrastructure for community mapping and science

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citizen cyberlab, citizen science, EU FP7, GeoKey, Papers, participatory GIS, Participatory Mapping, PPGIS, Public Participation GIS, VGI

Evolution of London’s Rush Hour Traffic Mix

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My latest London data visualisation crunches an interesting dataset from the Department of Transport. The data is available across England, although I’ve chosen London in particular because of its more interesting (i.e. not just car dominated) traffic mix. I’ve also focused on just the data for 8am to 9am, to examine the height of the … Continue reading Evolution of London’s Rush Hour Traffic Mix →

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Data Graphics, london

Big Data and Design: More Baboon, Less Unicorn

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I recently had the pleasure of giving a Creative Mornings talk. Each month there is a new theme that the presenters need to refer to – mine was “fantasy” so I chose to open with one of my favourite fantasy creatures: the unicorn. It’s a talk about the creative process behind Oliver Uberti and I’s […]

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baboon, Big Data, Resources, unicorn, Video, visualisation, where the animals go

Competition Winner: Exceptional contribution to (GIS/statistical) software

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The GIScRG (Geographic Information Science Research Group) and QMRG (Quantitative Methods Research Group) are pleased to announce the winner of our 2017 Exceptional contribution to (GIS/statistical) software competition. Zhaoya Gong has been awarded £400 for your development of the ARTMAP-based GeoComputation Toolbox. Further details: The ARTMAP-based GeoComputation Toolbox is a set of ARTMAP-based neural networks tools … Continue reading Competition Winner: Exceptional contribution to (GIS/statistical) software →

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Applications of Agent-based Models

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Often I get asked the question along the lines of: “how are agent-based models are being used outside academia, especially in government and private industry?” So I thought it was about time I briefly write something about this.

Let me start with a question I ask my students when I first introduce agent-based modeling: “Have you ever seen an agent-based model before?” Often the answer is NO, but then I show them the following clip from MASSIVE (Multiple Agent Simulation System in Virtual Environment) where agent-based models are used in a variety of movies and TV shows. But apart from TV shows and movies where else have agent-based models been used?
There are two specific application domains where agent-based modeling has taken off. The first being pedestrian simulation for example, Legion,  Steps and EXODUS simulation platforms. The second is the area of traffic modeling for example, there are several microsimulation/agent-based model platforms such as PTV Visum, TransModeler and Paramics. Based on these companies websites they have clients in industry, government and academia.
If we move away from the areas discussed above, there is a lot of writing about the potential of agent-based modeling. For example, the Bank of England had a article entitled “Agent-based models: understanding the economy from the bottom up” which to quote from the summary:

“considers the strengths of agent-based modelling, which explains the behaviour of a system by simulating the behaviour of each individual ‘agent’ in it, and the ways that it can be used to help central banks understand the economy.”

Similar articles can be seen in the New York Times and the Guardian to name but a few. But where else have agent-based models been used? A sample (and definitely not an exhaustive list) of applications and references are provided below for interested readers:
  • Southwest Airlines used an agent-based model to improve how it handled cargo (Seibel and Thomas, 2000).
  • Eli Lilly used an agent-based model for drug development (Bonabeau, 2003a).
  • Pacific Gas and Electric: Used an agent based model to see how energy flows through the power grid (Bonabeau, 2003a).
  • Procter and Gamble used an agent-based model to understand its consumer markets (North et al., 2010) while Hewlett-Packard used an agent-based model to understand how hiring strategies effect corporate culture (Bonabeau, 2003b).
  • Macy’s have used agent-based models for store design (Bonabeau, 2003b).
  • NASDAQ used and agent based model to explore changes to Stock Market’s decimalization (Bonabeau, 2003b; Darley and Outkin, 2007).
  • Using a agent-based model to explore capacity and demand in theme parks (Bonabeau, 2000).
  • Traffic and pedestrian modeling (Helbing and Balietti, 2011).
  • Disease dynamics (e.g. Eubank et al., 2004).
  • Agent-based modeling has also been used for wild fire training, incident command and community outreach (Guerin and Carrera, 2010). For example SimTable was used in the  2016 Sand Fire in California. 
  • InSTREAM: Explores how river salmon populations react to changes (Railsback and Harvey, 2002).

While not a comprehensive list, it is hoped that these examples and links will be useful if someone asks the question I started this post with. If anyone else knows of any other real world applications of agent-based modeling please let me know (preferably with a link to a paper or website).
 
References

  • Bonabeau, E. (2000), ‘Business Applications of Social Agent-Based Simulation’, Advances in Complex Systems, 3(1-4): 451-461.
  • Bonabeau, E. (2003a), ‘Don’t Trust Your Gut’, Harvard Business Review, 81(5): 116-123.
  • Bonabeau, E. (2003b), ‘Predicting the Unpredictable’, Harvard Business Review, 80(3): 109-116.
  • Darley, V. and Outkin, A.V. (2007), NASDAQ Market Simulation: Insights on a Major Market from the Science of Complex Adaptive Systems, World Scientific Publishing, River Edge, NJ.
  • Eubank, S., Guclu, H., Kumar, A.V.S., Marathe, M.V., Srinivasan, A., Toroczkai, Z. and Wang, N. (2004), ‘Modelling Disease Outbreaks in Realistic Urban Social Networks’, Nature, 429: 180-184.
  • Guerin, S. and Carrera, F. (2010), ‘Sand on Fire: An Interactive Tangible 3D Platform for the Modeling and Management of Wildfires.’ WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 137: 57-68.
  • Helbing, D. and Balietti, S. (2011), How to do Agent-based Simulations in the Future: From Modeling Social Mechanisms to Emergent Phenomena and Interactive Systems Design, Santa Fe Institute, Working Paper 11-06-024, Santa Fe, NM.
  • North, M.J., Macal, C.M., Aubin, J.S., Thimmapuram, P., Bragen, M., Hahn, J., J., K., Brigham, N., Lacy, M.E. and Hampton, D. (2010), ‘Multiscale Agent-based Consumer Market Modeling’, Complexity, 15(5): 37-47.
  • Railsback, S.F. and Harvey, B.C. (2002), ‘Analysis of Habitat Selection Rules using an Individual-based Model’, Ecology, 83(7): 1817-1830.
  • Seibel, F. and Thomas, C. (2000), ‘Manifest Destiny: Adaptive Cargo Routing at Southwest Airlines’, Perspectives on Business Innovation, 4: 27-33.

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    ABM Examples, Agent Based Models

    Applications of Agent-based Models

    Posted on by
    Often I get asked the question along the lines of: “how are agent-based models are being used outside academia, especially in government and private industry?” So I thought it was about time I briefly write something about this.

    Let me start with a question I ask my students when I first introduce agent-based modeling: “Have you ever seen an agent-based model before?” Often the answer is NO, but then I show them the following clip from MASSIVE (Multiple Agent Simulation System in Virtual Environment) where agent-based models are used in a variety of movies and TV shows. But apart from TV shows and movies where else have agent-based models been used?
    There are two specific application domains where agent-based modeling has taken off. The first being pedestrian simulation for example, Legion,  Steps and EXODUS simulation platforms. The second is the area of traffic modeling for example, there are several microsimulation/agent-based model platforms such as PTV Visum, TransModeler and Paramics. Based on these companies websites they have clients in industry, government and academia.
    If we move away from the areas discussed above, there is a lot of writing about the potential of agent-based modeling. For example, the Bank of England had a article entitled “Agent-based models: understanding the economy from the bottom up” which to quote from the summary:

    “considers the strengths of agent-based modelling, which explains the behaviour of a system by simulating the behaviour of each individual ‘agent’ in it, and the ways that it can be used to help central banks understand the economy.”

    Similar articles can be seen in the New York Times and the Guardian to name but a few. But where else have agent-based models been used? A sample (and definitely not an exhaustive list) of applications and references are provided below for interested readers:
    • Southwest Airlines used an agent-based model to improve how it handled cargo (Seibel and Thomas, 2000).
    • Eli Lilly used an agent-based model for drug development (Bonabeau, 2003a).
    • Pacific Gas and Electric: Used an agent based model to see how energy flows through the power grid (Bonabeau, 2003a).
    • Procter and Gamble used an agent-based model to understand its consumer markets (North et al., 2010) while Hewlett-Packard used an agent-based model to understand how hiring strategies effect corporate culture (Bonabeau, 2003b).
    • Macy’s have used agent-based models for store design (Bonabeau, 2003b).
    • NASDAQ used and agent based model to explore changes to Stock Market’s decimalization (Bonabeau, 2003b; Darley and Outkin, 2007).
    • Using a agent-based model to explore capacity and demand in theme parks (Bonabeau, 2000).
    • Traffic and pedestrian modeling (Helbing and Balietti, 2011).
    • Disease dynamics (e.g. Eubank et al., 2004).
    • Agent-based modeling has also been used for wild fire training, incident command and community outreach (Guerin and Carrera, 2010). For example SimTable was used in the  2016 Sand Fire in California. 
    • InSTREAM: Explores how river salmon populations react to changes (Railsback and Harvey, 2002).

    While not a comprehensive list, it is hoped that these examples and links will be useful if someone asks the question I started this post with. If anyone else knows of any other real world applications of agent-based modeling please let me know (preferably with a link to a paper or website).
     
    References

    • Bonabeau, E. (2000), ‘Business Applications of Social Agent-Based Simulation’, Advances in Complex Systems, 3(1-4): 451-461.
    • Bonabeau, E. (2003a), ‘Don’t Trust Your Gut’, Harvard Business Review, 81(5): 116-123.
    • Bonabeau, E. (2003b), ‘Predicting the Unpredictable’, Harvard Business Review, 80(3): 109-116.
    • Darley, V. and Outkin, A.V. (2007), NASDAQ Market Simulation: Insights on a Major Market from the Science of Complex Adaptive Systems, World Scientific Publishing, River Edge, NJ.
    • Eubank, S., Guclu, H., Kumar, A.V.S., Marathe, M.V., Srinivasan, A., Toroczkai, Z. and Wang, N. (2004), ‘Modelling Disease Outbreaks in Realistic Urban Social Networks’, Nature, 429: 180-184.
    • Guerin, S. and Carrera, F. (2010), ‘Sand on Fire: An Interactive Tangible 3D Platform for the Modeling and Management of Wildfires.’ WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 137: 57-68.
    • Helbing, D. and Balietti, S. (2011), How to do Agent-based Simulations in the Future: From Modeling Social Mechanisms to Emergent Phenomena and Interactive Systems Design, Santa Fe Institute, Working Paper 11-06-024, Santa Fe, NM.
    • North, M.J., Macal, C.M., Aubin, J.S., Thimmapuram, P., Bragen, M., Hahn, J., J., K., Brigham, N., Lacy, M.E. and Hampton, D. (2010), ‘Multiscale Agent-based Consumer Market Modeling’, Complexity, 15(5): 37-47.
    • Railsback, S.F. and Harvey, B.C. (2002), ‘Analysis of Habitat Selection Rules using an Individual-based Model’, Ecology, 83(7): 1817-1830.
    • Seibel, F. and Thomas, C. (2000), ‘Manifest Destiny: Adaptive Cargo Routing at Southwest Airlines’, Perspectives on Business Innovation, 4: 27-33.

      Continue reading »
      ABM Examples, Agent Based Models

      Into the night – training day on citizen science slides

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      Last December, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) awarded funding to UCL Extreme Citizen Science group and Earthwatch as part of their investment in public engagement. The projects are all short – they start from January to March and included public engagement and training to early career researchers. “Into the Night” highlights the importance of light … Continue reading Into the night – training day on citizen science slides

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      #DITscience, citizen cyberscience, citizen science, Conference, Extreme Citizen Science, GIS, GIS Usability, VGI

      Podcast – discussion with Liz Killen and Alice Sheppard on citizen science

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      Several weeks ago, Liz Killen, who is studying for an MSc in Science Communication at Imperial College organised an interview with me and Alice Sheppard about aspects of citizen science, for the I, Science the science magazine of Imperial College. This is the second time ExCiteS is covered in the magazine, after a report in 2013 by … Continue reading Podcast – discussion with Liz Killen and Alice Sheppard on citizen science

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      #DITscience, citizen science, DITOs, Extreme Citizen Science

      Editorial in Human Computation Journal – Creativity and Learning in Citizen Cyberscience

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      As part of a special issue of the open access Human Computation Journal, I am the co-author of the editorial Creativity and Learning in Citizen Cyberscience – Lessons from the Citizen Cyberlab Summit. Following the summit (see blog post here), Egle Ramanauskaite took the blog posts and edited them with her notes, which led to a … Continue reading Editorial in Human Computation Journal – Creativity and Learning in Citizen Cyberscience

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      citizen cyberlab, citizen cyberscience, citizen science, Papers

      Public Participation GIS and Participatory GIS in the Era of GeoWeb – editorial for a special issue

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      As part of the AAG 2015 conference, Bandana Kar, Rina Ghose, Renee Sieber and I organised a set of sessions on Public Participation GIS – you can read the summary here. After the conference, we’ve organised a special issue of the Cartographic Journal (thanks to Alex Kent, the journal editor) dedicated to current perspectives of public participation … Continue reading Public Participation GIS and Participatory GIS in the Era of GeoWeb – editorial for a special issue

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      AAG2015, Conference, GIS, GIS Usability, Papers, Participatory Geography, participatory GIS, PGIS, PPGIS, special issue PPGIS, The Cartographic Journal, VGI

      Competition: Exceptional contribution to (GIS/statistical) software

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      The GIScRG (Geographic Information Science Research Group of the RGS) and QMRG (Quantitative Methods Research Group) are looking to use some of their fund to support a contribution to some GIS / statistical open source software. We have £500 to offer as a grant (or series of grants) to one or more projects that will … Continue reading Competition: Exceptional contribution to (GIS/statistical) software →

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