AnyLogic developers don't need to envy iOS developers since they can now generate apps - unlimited runtime licenses - as easy as: file/save as. That's right, you can create a fully independent, self-running application on any OS that requires NO activation or registration on the part of your customers or co-workers. They don't need AnyLogic... just the ability to double-click! These apps include all the controls you designed for experiments as well as the ability to read/write data from external sources.
This is just one of the many features such as Team Licensing, 3D Applets, and others included in the new AnyLogic 6.7 which is, of course, completely FREE to all our registered users.
We are allways excited to see customers doing leading-edge work with our software!
Electric vehicles will change the transportation and energy distribution landscape. GE Global Research is using advanced agent-based simulation (AnyLogic, of course!), expert reasoning and operations research techniques to understand this new world. Applications include granular models of EV adoption and the utilization and placement of charging infrastructure.
This exciting event will be Nov 17. Register here: http://bit.ly/rdu7h9 Event number: 823 863 397 Event password: imagine
You can look backwards to know what happened, or you can simulate forwards to determine what will happen. I can hardly wait to see GE's predictions!
Have an interesting customer story to tell? Let us know about it!
This is one of our standard videos off YouTube. You can watch it, of course, but now you can also interact with it. Check out the buttons on the upper right hand corner of the frame. You can get more details of model, review associated pictures (right now it's a boring tractor, but it could be a headshot of the modeler, or chart of final output results...), and -- this is the fun part -- associated links. You can switch from the video to running the model yourself. Seen enough? You can download AnyLogic directly and get started. Or follow links to training or more information. (Warning: If you follow the link from the blog to the blog you're liable to get stuck in an infinite loop and I won't be responsible ;-)
As you may know we recently released version 6.6 (allright, in case you don't know, look down about 6 column inches to the previous post!) but what you may not know is that most of the key features in this release were really our customers' ideas.
For years the System Dynamics community has been pointing out that some of our digramming was not exactly the same as what was being termed "classical system dynamics" -- aka "Jay didn't draw it that way".
Just a few months ago a customer was working on a traffic modeling problem and it was so intriguing we had to take notice.
So in the latter case we developed the Road Traffic Library and it is such a natural companion to our rail and pedestrian libraries that we knew we had the makings of a complete transportation, logistics, and supply chain smart object modeling suite. (As to the SD look-and-feel we hired ninjas to break into Dr Forrester's old boxes of notes in his attic so we could get all the arrows and stocks looking just right.)
But the point is: AnyLogic is under constant development and we are adding features and capabilities at a dizzying rate. If there is something you'd like to see in the application just tell us directly or use the tool's built-in feedback mechanism.
One of the things that makes our simulation modeling software different from some of our competitors such as Arena, Simio, or Flexsim is that we're a little more agile, a little quicker to react, and under constant development. Sure, we were not the first ones to have 3D simulation software but then our modeling is not limited to the physical world and material flow like these others. With its rich agent-based and system dynamics components AnyLogic is as likely to work in more abstract terms. Our models can include continuous variables, such as cash flow, or even esoteric ones such as workforce morale; more than the ubiquitous "boxes on conveyors" that are so common in the discrete event modeling world. In the world of simulation tools and simulation modeling AnyLogic really stands out as far as flexible simulation software goes.one of the reasons is because we listened to the people who actually do the modeling. Every new simulation release is heavily influenced by our customers feedback and from the insights we gain in our get support process.
Our new version 6.6, is a good example of this philosophy. We think the key to success is balancing the quality and depth of your simulation models with the speed and ease of your simulation modeling. As you watch the video you'll note that ever since we took the brave plunge to completely rewrite our product in Java/Eclipse we've been steadily improving our simulation software with two or three major releases every year. And having seen the roadmap I can tell you that trend will continue with AnyLogic 7 expected at the end of the year. So model often, model hard, and model in clever new ways, but don't forget to give us your feedback and ideas. You'd be surprised how quickly we can take them from a customer's casual remark to an integral part of the application.
As I write this AnyLogic 6.6 is being put on the www.xjtek.com download page. As usual our tireless developers have added a host of new features -- many of them suggested by our customers through the feedback surveys (so, thanks). But this release has something for everybody:
System Dyanmics modelers. We have revamped the user interface to be more in line with the classical appoach. Now you can just draw dependencies and create your qualitative causal diagram and then come back to it and add formulas later. (There are also several diagramming and graphical improvements).
Transportation modelers. We had the Pedestrian library. We recently added the Rail library. Now comes the new Road Traffic library where you can easily create complex and detailed vehicle flow simulations with drag/drop ease. Naturally you can combine all these libraries into a detailed transportation model. Can anyone say "urban planning", or "evacuation"; many applications! And because AnyLogic is the ONLY tool that allows you to combine multiple simulation paradigms you can construct huge models by using discrete event or system dynamics components to handle parts of the system and lower your computational demand.
Agent developers and learners. Our new Modeling Wizard makes creating agent populations a matter of grabbing the Agent Population object and dropping it onto the design environment. Don't let all this power go to your head.
People who like to share ;-) Everything is social networks now so, in addition to our web Forum and LinkedIn groups we have launched Runthemodel.com a new site where you can upload and share your models with a single command. Want to post your latest work for your team's review? Want to build a killer portfolio to impress your clients? Looking for a new job in modeling? Or do you just want to show off? Runthemodel.com is an easy and elegant solution. We plan to run contests and evolve this platform in many ways. It's still in Private Beta but you can check it out now: Runthemodel.com
Techies. Well, most of our readers are techies, technically, so they'll all be happy to hear about these great features: automatic Units checking and reporting, integration with ExpertFit, new example models and how-to models, more collection types... there's a list you see. Why not download the New Features list and go through them in detail?
People who speak other languages! That's right, AnyLogic is now available in German and Chinese (in addition to Italian, Russian, and English). What a small world we have.
Academics. It wouldn't be right to leave them out, would it? USB dongle activation is a new feature for University Researcher and Educational licenses. And we have added the Rail library to the Educational version to encourage students to build rail models and help us explore the possibilities. Consider it a graduation present.
The Windows version is available for download on the website - the wizard will lead you through a one-step uninstall of previous version and replacement. "Update available" notices will be pushed to AnyLogic users upon application launch starting in a few days. Mac and Linux versions will follow soon. If you're a lapsed customer just give us a call and we'll extend some maintenance amnesty so you won't have to miss out on all the above. If you're a simulation professional but haven't checked out AnyLogic (as if!) then follow these links or contact our US office for a no-pressure demo or webinar.
Don't forget to leave comments and tell us what you think. Mentioning the blog entry may not get you a discount, but it warms our hearts, and we really do take your feedback seriously.
Last post I highlighted the new Traffic Library but it was brought to my attention that the Rail Library barely got a mention in passing. Let me fix that. You have had the capability to model trains before in AnyLogic, after all it's a general purpose environment, but the new library makes it drag and drop easy. You can lay out track or have AnyLogic create a track layout from a descriptive file. You can have multiple cameras. You can easily combine trains with pedestrians to get a train station model (see video). You can import custom cars if you want more than provided in the library. You can simulate kicking cars or humps. The trains understand switching logic. In short, we've shown this to a few people in the train business and they are mighty impressed.
But that's not all! The XJ team has been hard at work on writing the Big Book of AnyLogic and I am happy to announce that the Rails chapter, in all its shiny newness, is available. You can read it at the XJ website, download it, or just flip through the first 15 pages of it here to get a taste. Click the right arrow to read this in its frame, click the center to fill your screen.
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To run some train simulations on our website go here Or you can look at some of our newer models on YouTube
Anyone who has ever used the Pedestrian or Rail Yard Libraries in AnyLogic knows how powerful they are. Just drag these objects into your design window from the palette and BANG! ZOOM! they bring a lot pre-build capabilities with them. You can have pedestrians running around an architectural layout in practically no time. And they already know how pedestrians behave. No additional coding to teach them they can't walk through walls, etc. And for the last few months you've also had the ability to do this with trains. They're smart trains too; they know how signals work.
Now, as an exclusive for the AnyLogic North America blog, I can tell you that all this coolness is coming to the May release of AnyLogic in its new Road Traffic Library.
And of course it comes with a set of existing vehicles (more can be imported), 3D awesomeness, and the ability to leverage all of AnyLogic's extensive features. Vehicles behave like, well, vehicles. They know what different traffic signs are and how to react to them. Just give your little agents the keys, step back, and watch them drive around (all without impacting your insurance premium.)
Have a particularly detailed or complex bit of logic you need to employ? No worries. Since AnyLogic is a pure Java app you can easily extend or modify your simulation at any point with the behaviours you are interested in. Our designers thought of a lot of things, but not necessarily everything. So with our foundation and your modifications we'll make a great team... with a time-to-complete modeling project that nobody else can touch. (By the way. If you DID come up with some neat code or new requirements by all means tell us! We can highlight you on our web or even include your needs in a future release. I'd tell you about our upcoming Model Sharing website but I really should keep it to one Leak per blog post.)
If you want to keep tabs on this release, or if you are just new to AnyLogic and want to see what I have been talking about, pay a visit to the XJ Technologies website or, if you want to look at a pedestrian model of what I have been describing you can go here and click on any of these examples. They'll all run in your browser without any other software needed.
As all AnyLogic users should know our support is AMAZING. And by "amazing" I mean: unlimited, in-depth, really smart, helpful, built right into the tool and, well, email-based. But the email part makes sense; the timezone differences and the detailed types of responses required make a quick telephone answer less useful than a carefully developed bit of code or model-testing.
But what about those times when you're just stuck and you need a simple prod to move you forward again? We are happy to say that in 2011 we will be rolling out telephone-based support, located in the US Central Time Zone and staffed with native English speakers. For now we are rolling this out to our larger National Accounts as a test -- so don't be surprised that I am not publishing the number here! We have high hopes that this will be a success and we may roll it out on a broader basis. Perhaps as a feature in Professional or University Researcher licenses? Please let us know what you think!
As always, if you have any commercial or process questions you can call the US sales office anytime at (480) ANYLOGIC.
Facebook is preparing to roll out a new feature that will identify user’s locations and will allow the ability of advertisers to more accurately target users geographic data.
By integrating the data of some of the 400 million Facebook users, agent based models and simulations will be able to more accurately simulate the dynamics of the market.
Knowing what and where users react to advertising and promotions will allow companies to identify the trends of multiple markets, not only geographically but by age and status as well.
Agent based simulation and system dynamics are only as good as the information provided. The ability to tap into enormous user groups who have a record of willingly providing valuable information into likes and dislikes will prove incredibly valuable.
For much of the last century, modern medicine has invested in the treatment of diseases and illnesses, and very little on the prevention of these diseases.
Part of this is due to the invention of antibiotics and disease fighting medicines that had never been available before. This ability to identify the illness and prescribe a solution to said illness was found to be much easier and much more effective than planning for and preventing diseases. The reason for this is because of the many variables involved. With prevention you are trying to identify the root cause of a problem and identify a plan for preventing it. This was thought to be much more expensive than simply identifying the problem and treating it.
With recent advances in healthcare simulation we are finding that this is not always the case. Take for example cardiovascular disease, the number 1 worldwide killer of men and women according to the Mayo Clinic. With a simple simulation model, similar to the one that can be viewed here, we can quickly identify the enormous cost of treating this disease, as well as identify those most vulnerable.
By lowering the costs of prevention, healthcare simulation is playing a vital role in our understanding and prevention of diseases.
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