Analysis and design of a multi-agent system for simulating a crisis response organization

Simulation is a way to deal with the lack of data and difficulty in designing controlled experiments in the field of crisis response. This paper presents the analysis and design of a simulation model used to evaluate different coordination mechanisms for a crisis response organization. Such organizations are often multidisciplinary, short-lived and ad hoc. Coordination between the responders can be achieved in a structured way (through standards and hierarchy) or can manifest itself in an adaptive or emergent manner. The characteristics of the response organization and the study of structured vs. emergent coordination fit with the capabilities and nature of multi-agent systems (MAS). The MAS model is built using the GAIA methodology and the JADE agent framework. The model can be configured differently to deal with an emergency scenario developed separately as a discrete-event simulation, providing a testbed for simulating coordination in crisis response.