GeoGraph Teams of Mobile Heterogeneous Agents

GeoGraphs have a series of classes that allow for the creation and observation of teams of agents that behave as social hierarchies. For each layer of responsibility in the organization, there can be a specific type of "Hierarchy Agent" that fits that role. The simulation can show visualizations of these communication links in a variety of contexts, ranging from lines drawn between the members of the group, to group coloration, to tree views that show the hierarchy by group member name, message, and status. These displays are linked, so that selecting an agent in one display highlights the same agent in different displays.

The first practical implementation of this teams system has been to develop a model of competing "warlords" in an urban setting. Each warlord selects a "home base" to work from, and then sends his lieutenants forth to gather food from unoccupied nodes, to raid food from occupied nodes, to attack other agents, or to defend a node. The lieutenants in turn command their soldiers to gather food, deliver food, or attack a node. The warlords make their decisions based on the amount of food other warlords have and on the history of attacks by other warlords.

Figure 1: Full-screen top view of the main Teams simulation window. This is a dynamic simulation with agents moving around the landscape in order to address pillars of resources or targets.

Figure 2: Gray pillars are food or other resources to be looted or protected, targets of opportunity to be attacked, or other trouble to be addressed. In this example, agents are indigenous Warlord 'Generals', Lieutenants, and Soldiers.