A Novel Formal Agent-Based Simulation Modeling Framework of an AIDS Complex Adaptive System

Abstract

HIV/AIDS spread depends upon complex patterns of interaction among various sub-sets emerging at population level. This added complexity makes it difficult to study and model AIDS and its dynamics. AIDS is therefore a natural candidate to be modeled using agent-based modeling, a paradigm well-known for modeling Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). While agent-based models are also well-known to effectively model CAS, often times models can tend to be ambiguous and the use of purely text-based specifications (such as ODD) can make models difficult to be replicated. Previous work has shown how formal specification may be used in conjunction with agent-based modeling to develop models of various CAS. However, to the best of our knowledge, no such model has been developed in conjunction with AIDS. In this paper, we present a Formal Agent-Based Simulation modeling framework (FABS-AIDS) for an AIDS-based CAS. FABS-AIDS employs the use of a formal specification model in conjunction with an agent-based model to reduce ambiguity as well as improve clarity in the model definition. The proposed model demonstrates the effectiveness of using formal specification in conjunction with agent-based simulation for developing models of CAS in general and, social network-based agent-based models, in particular.