Agent-based simulation for large-scale emergency response

When attempting to determine how to respond optimally to a large-scale emergency, the ability to predict the consequences of certain courses of action in silico is of great utility. Agent-based simulations (ABSs) have become the de facto tool for this purpose; however, they may be used and implemented in a variety of ways. This article reviews existing implementations of ABSs for large-scale emergency response, and presents a taxonomy classifying them by usage. Opportunities for improving ABS for large-scale emergency response are identified.