Machine understanding in agent-directed simulation: state-of-the-art and research directions

To set the stage, the comprehensive big picture of simulation is evoked and references to get detailed information are given. As part of the powerful synergy of software agents and simulation, contribution of software agents to simulation is outlined and proper references are given. The contribution of agents to simulation leads to agent simulation, agent-supported simulation, and agent-monitored simulation. Machine understanding which is an important aspect of computational intelligence, is outlined. Scope of machine understanding is specified, a functional decomposition of machine understanding systems is explained and elements of machine understanding systems are identified. After briefly explaining four categories and two stages of machine understanding, appropriate references are given. After this background, state-of-the-art of contribution of several types of machine understanding to three aspects of agent-directed simulation are listed and references provided. This part consists of contribution of machine understanding to agent simulation, to agent-supported simulation, and to agent-monitored simulation. For each three categories, some desirable research directions are also outlined.