Model-Driven Engineering in Agent-based Modeling and Simulation: a Case Study in the Traffic Signal Control Domain

Model-driven engineering (MDE) is an approach for improving productivity in software development. This approach was exploited in the context of agent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS) only to a certain extent. Previous work has not shown real evidence of the benefits that MDE promotes in ABMS. This paper thus explores the use of MDE in ABMS with a case study in the traffic domain. We propose a domain analysis method to identify domain concepts and a modeling language that provides building blocks for them. Our evaluation gives evidence that our MDE approach reduces the effort to develop agent-based simulations.