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Agent-based Simulation of Consumer Behaviour | Stephen Richard James Murphy | D614JN
Project Specification
Stephen Murphy, supervised by Rafael Bordini
Agent-Based Simulation of Consumer Behaviour
Artificial Intelligence | Computer Science
The purpose of this project is to create an agent-based simulation that will try to reproduce the behaviour of human
consumers in a shopping centre environment. There are many different types of consumers; for example, those who
shop frequently and so will have a better knowledge of the shopping centre layout and item prices, those who prefer to
search for the best prices rather than head for the nearest offer and so forth. Some consumer types will be modeled in
this multi-agent system, and simulation results will be obtained and analysed. By analysing the results from many
simulation runs, I shall be able, for example, to make amendments to the shopping centre environment to ensure
popular shops are positioned strategically so as to avoid over-crowded spaces.
Preliminary Preparation:
1. Familiarise myself with Jason, a java-based interpreter for an extended version of AgentSpeak
2. Devise a simple project plan, so as to ensure productivity straight-away next term
Minimum Objectives:
1. Learn about agent-based simulation
2. Develop a simple model of a shopping centre
3. Implement simple shopping agents
Intermediate Objectives:
1. Incorporate the ability to change the shop layout in the shopping centre environment
2. Make the agents more sophisticated, by adding variety to agent behaviours
3. Analyse the simulation results
Advanced Objectives:
1. Implement a virtual 3D model of the shopping centre environment
2. Use AI techniques to determine an optimal shopping centre design for a given population
References:
Programming multi-agent systems in AgentSpeak using Jason, Rafael.H.Bordini, Jomi Fred Hübner, Michael Wooldridge
[2007].
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation <http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/JASSS.html>.