Work is starting this week at the Centre for Spatial Analysis and Policy (CSAP) in Leeds on preparing the Flexible Modelling Framework (FMF) for release under an open source licence. The FMF so far includes the following capabilities: microsimulation (using simulated annealing); spatial interaction modelling and agent-based modelling. The idea behind the framework is to give researchers a tool where common modelling methodologies can be linked together and developed.
The FMF has been developed in the Java programming language. The FMF has initially been used for generating realistic populations of Leeds (Harland et al., 2012: http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/15/1/1.html ) and is currently being used to examine trends and processes within retail markets. Other applications, ranging from modelling health behaviours to influence of autism in early modern human populations are being planned.
The simulation capabilities of the FMF will also be made available under short TALISMAN tutorials and possibly TALISMAN social simulation courses in 2013.
Further information on the release and further functionalities will be added in due course.
