Individual-Based Models

Individual-Based Models
an annotated list of links
by Craig Reynolds



Individual-based models are simulations based on the global consequences of local interactions of members of a population. These individuals might represent plants and animals in ecosystems, vehicles in traffic, people in crowds, or autonomous characters in animation and games. These models typically consist of an environment or framework in which the interactions occur and some number of individuals defined in terms of their behaviors (procedural rules) and characteristic parameters. In an individual-based model, the characteristics of each individual are tracked through time. This stands in contrast to modeling techniques where the characteristics of the population are averaged together and the model attempts to simulate changes in these averaged characteristics for the whole population. Individual-based models are also known as entity or agent based models, and as individual/entity/agent-based simulations.