Simulation and Agent-Based Simulation at WOA: 25 of Years of Simulation-Related Contributions, and an Outlook of What Awaits Us

Giuseppe Vizzari; Daniela Briola

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-22940-3_10

Simulation and Agent-Based Simulation at WOA: 25 of Years of Simulation-Related Contributions, and an Outlook of What Awaits Us

Giuseppe Vizzari, Daniela Briola

Viviana Mascardi, Andrea Omicini (eds.)

The Agents Journey: Twenty-Five Years of Multi-agent Systems, chapter 10, pages 260–283

Lecture Notes in Computer Science (State-of-the-Art Survey) 16395

Springer Nature Switzerland

April 2026

The expression computer simulation implies the definition and adoption of a computational model to improve the understanding of some system’s behavior and/or to evaluate strategies for its operation, in explanatory or predictive schemes. Computer simulation is quite diffused, since in many situations practical and/or ethical reasons make it impossible to directly observe a system that we want to study or manage. In these cases, the possibility of performing ‘in-machina’ experiments is often the only, hazardous way to study, analyze and evaluate models of those realities. The Workshop on Objects and Agents (WOA) venue is no exception: in several cases papers presented at WOA discussed simulations carried out to demonstrate the working of an agent-based model or software system, to calibrate or evaluate it. On the other hand, agent-based approaches also represented a set of conceptual, modeling and computational tools that are particularly suited to represent situations characterized by the presence of autonomous entities whose local behaviors (actions and interactions) determine the evolution of the overall system, often in non-trivial ways: agent-based approaches are, in other words, particularly in tune with some of the characteristics of complex systems. This chapter provides a bird’s eye view of the relevant contributions presented at WOA in the last 25 years, highlighting the scientific impact of agent-based approaches in the more general area of simulation, and giving a perspective on what we can expect to witness in the near future for this area.

keywords Simulation, agent-based modeling, agent-based simulation

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Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)

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The Agents Journey (edited volume, 2026) — Viviana Mascardi, Andrea Omicini

companion publication

Preface (editorial/introduction/preface, 2026) — Viviana Mascardi, Andrea Omicini

Evolution of Programming Languages in Agent Systems and the Role of Computational Logic (book chapter, 2026) — Alina Vozna, Andrea Monaldini, Stefania Costantini, Giovanni De Gasperis, Pierangelo dell’Acqua, Andrea Formisano, Andrea Rafanelli

Looking for the Best Partners (book chapter, 2026) — Domenico Rosaci, Giuseppe M. L. Sarnè

Trust Evolution in Agent and Multi-agent Systems: A Computational Modeling Perspective (book chapter, 2026) — Alessandro Sapienza, Filippo Cantucci, Cristiano Castelfranchi, Rino Falcone

Interaction Protocols: From AUML to Social Commitments, from Artifacts to BSPL (book chapter, 2026) — Matteo Baldoni, Cristina Baroglio, Roberto Micalizio

Coordination of Software Agents: Models and Languages (book chapter, 2026) — Giacomo Cabri, Letizia Leonardi, Stefano Mariani, Franco Zambonelli

Self-organisation with Aggregate Computing: A Reflection Under the Lenses of Multi-agent Systems Engineering (book chapter, 2026) — Gianluca Aguzzi, Roberto Casadei, Danilo Pianini, Mirko Viroli

Rethinking Software Agents as Building Blocks of Software Systems (book chapter, 2026) — Federico Bergenti, Stefania Monica

Designing Agent-Oriented Systems (book chapter, 2026) — Massimo Cossentino, Luca Sabatucci, Valeria Seidita

Agent-Based Computing for Science and Engineering: Back to the Future and Beyond... (book chapter, 2026) — Alfredo Garro

25 Years of Declarative Agent Technologies in Italy (book chapter, 2026) — Davide Ancona, Daniela Briola, Angelo Ferrando, Maurizio Martelli, Viviana Mascardi

Intelligent Agents from Symbolic to Neurosymbolic Systems: The Quest for Integration (book chapter, 2026) — Andrea Agiollo, Roberta Calegari, Giovanni Ciatto, Matteo Magnini, Andrea Omicini, Federico Sabbatini

From Objects to Agents, and Back to Smart Objects: Software Agents for Intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) Systems (book chapter, 2026) — Daniel-Costel Bouleanu, Marco Loaiza, Claudio Savaglio, Costin Bădică, Raffaele Gravina, Giancarlo Fortino

AI Infrastructure: From Gigastructure to Edge Intelligence with Multi-Agent Systems (book chapter, 2026) — Andrea Omicini, Alessandro Ricci, Viviana Mascardi

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