Activity-based Modeling & Simulation (ACTIMS'14)

Welcome to the home page of Activity-based Modeling & Simulation 2014 !

The workshop aims at defining new research directions for activity-based modeling and simulation by bringing together world experts from many disciplines.

The ACTIMS'14 workshop will be held January 16-18, 2014 at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. (arrival on January 15)

ACTIMS workshops follow the Dagstuhl and CAMPaM seminar formats – “bring a critical mass of top researchers together in a relatively remote location and soon new ideas will flow.”

Organizers:

• Rodrigo Castro, CONICET, DES lab, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina and ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
• Olivier Michel, LACL lab, Université de Paris-Est, Créteil, France.
• Alexandre Muzy, CNRS, I3S lab, Sophia-Antipolis, France.
• Laurent Capocchi, FRES FR CNRS 3041, University of Corsica, France.

Honorary Chairs:

• Bernard P. Zeigler, ACIMS lab, University of Arizona, USA.
• Andreas Fischlin, Terrestrial Systems Ecology group, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
• François Cellier, Modeling and Simulation Research group, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

• Mittal, S. & Zeigler, B.P., “Modeling Attention Switching in Resource-constrained Complex Intelligent Dynamical Systems (RCIDS)”, Symposium on Theory of Modeling and Simulation/DEVS, Spring Simulation Multiconference 2014. Accepted. paper
• Muzy, A., Varenne, F., Zeigler, B. P., Caux, J., Coquillard, P., Touraille, L., Prunetti, D., Caillou, P., Michel, O., & Hill, D. R., 2013. Refounding of the activity concept? Towards a federative paradigm for modeling and simulation. SIMULATION, 89(2): 156-177.
• Qiu, F. & Hu, X., 2013. Spatial activity-based modeling for pedestrian crowd simulation. SIMULATION, 89(4): 451-465.
• Hu, X. & Zeigler, B. P., 2013. Linking Information and Energy - Activity-based Energy-Aware Information Processing, SIMULATION, 89(4): 435-450.
• Muzy, A. & Zeigler, B.P., 2012. Activity-based credit assignment (ACA) in hierarchical simulation. In: Wainer, G. & Mosterman, P. (eds.), TMS/DEVS '12 - Proceedings of the 2012 Symposium on Theory of Modeling and Simulation-DEVS Integrative M&S Symposium, Orlando, USA Published, March 26 - 29, 2012, 5pp., SCS - The Society for Modeling & Simulation International, p. 8.
• Muzy, A. & Hill, D.R., 2011. What is new with the activity world view in modeling and simulation? using activity as a unifying guide for modeling and simulation, invited paper. In: Jain, S., Creasey, R.R., Himmelspach, J. & White, K.P.F.M. (eds.), WSC '11 Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference, IEEE/SMC-ACM/SIGSIM- Proceedings of the 2011 Winter Simulation Conference, Catonsville, USA Published, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, Simulation Society, pp. 2887-2899.
• Muzy, A., Touraille, L., Vangheluwe, H., Michel, O., Traoré, M.K. & Hill, D.R.C., 2010. Activity regions for the specification of discrete event systems. In: McGraw, R., Imsand, E. & Chinni, M.J. (eds.), SpringSim '10 Proceedings of the 2010 Spring Simulation Multiconference, San Diego, CA, USA Published, Orlando, FL, USA; April 11 - 15, 2010, 136pp., Society for Computer Simulation International, pp. 176-182(136:1-136:7).
• Muzy, A. & Zeigler, B.P., 2008. Introduction to the activity tracking paradigm in component-based simulation. Open Cybernetics & Systemics Journal, 230-38.
• Robert, C.P., 2011. Simulation in statistics. In: Jain, S., Creasey, R.R., Himmelspach, J. & White, K.P.F.M. (eds.), WSC '11 Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference, IEEE/SMC-ACM/SIGSIM- Proceedings of the 2011 Winter Simulation Conference, Catonsville, USA Published, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, Simulation Society, pp. 108-119.
• Muzy, A., Hill, D.R. & Zeigler, B.P. (eds.), 2010. Activity-based modeling and simulation. Cargese Interdisciplinary Seminar 2009, Activity-based modeling and simulation, Cargese, Corsica Published, CNRS-Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli Research Center of Cargese, Cargese, Corsica; 20-24. Apr., 2009, Presses Universitaires Blaise-Pascal.
• Muzy, A., Jammalamadaka, R., Zeigler, B.P. & Nutaro, J.J., 2011. The Activity-tracking paradigm in discrete-event modeling and simulation: The case of spatially continuous distributed systems. Simulation, 87(5): 449-464.

1. Rodrigo Castro: Activity and simulation of continuous systems
2. François Cellier: Activity and simulation of continuous systems
3. Xenofon Floros: Distributed simulation of continuous systems
4. Andreas Fischlin: Systems Ecology Modeling and Simulation
5. Hans Vangheluwe: Model-driven Engineering and simulation
6. Fernando Barros: DSDEVS
7. Jean-François Santucci: DEVSimPy
8. Laurent Capocchi: DEVSimPy
9. Lisandru Muzy: Activity-based M&S
10. Olivier Dalle: Fractal DEVS
11. Gabriel Wainer: Cell-DEVS
12. Patrick Coquillard: Ecological Modeling and Simulation
13. Yentl Van Tendeloo: Activity-Aware DEVS simulation
14. Lauriane Massardier: Computational Biology
15. Saurabh Mittal: Activity-Based Intelligent Systems
16. James Nutaro: Inductive Modeling

Presentations (and coffee breaks during Thursday and Friday) will take place at the CHN Building (Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich) in Universitätstrasse 16.

Our Seminar Room is G.22 (Floor G, Room 22) Phone: +41 44 633 90 75 (from within the building, intern 39075)

Emergency numbers: The Emergency Desk can be contacted 24 hours a day. From internal connections: 888 From external connections or mobile phones: +41 44 342 11 88

All times are in Zurich Time (CET - Central European Time)

Wednesday 15

During the day: Arrival of attendees

Toward evening: A welcome/meeting activity is being planned for the attendees coming from abroad, and staying at the workshop's hotel or nearby.

Most likely we will go to an Italian pizza/pasta place just around the hotel's corner. We will define the time soon according to average expected arrival hours (No earlier than 20 hs.)

Thursday 16

08:00-08:45 Breakfast @ hotel

• 09:00-10:15 Andreas Fischlin “Welcome address - Welcome to ETH Zurich and D-USYS” + Alexandre Muzy “Workshop Opening + Overview of Activity based modeling and simulation” slides + preliminary discussions
  

10:15-10:45 Coffee break

• 10:45-11:30 Jean-François Santucci “Using Activity Metrics for DEVS Simulation Profiling”
  
• 11:30-12:15 Fernando Barros “A Numerical Study of Quantization-Based Integrators”
  

12:30-14:00 Lunch @ ETH Zentrum Main Building (Dozentenfoyer)

• 15:00-15:45 François Cellier “On the importance of Quantized State Systems (QSS) in Applied Mathematics” slides
  
• 15:45-16:30 Rodrigo Castro “nth-Order Activity of Continuous Systems” slides
  

16:30-16:45 Coffee break

• 16:45-17:30 Olivier Dalle “Some questions about the relations between activity and time representations”
  
• 17:30-18:15 (Remote via Skype) Saurabh Mittal “Attention-focusing in Activity-based Intelligent Systems” slides+ James Nutaro “Exact reconstruction of finite memory automata with the General Systems Problem Solver (GSPS)” slides
  

19:30 Workshop Reception Dinner @ Zurich downtown: Restaurant Zeughauskeller

Friday 17

08:00-08:45 Breakfast @ hotel

• 09:00-09:30 François Cellier “Inductive Modeling” slides
  
• 09:30-10:15 Gabriel Wainer “Computational Fluid Dynamic: a definition and implementation using Cell-DEVS”
  

10:15-10:45 Coffee break

• 10:45-11:30 Patrick Coquillard “Some links between systems and organisms”
  
• 11:30-12:15 Andreas Fischlin “Modeling and simulation paradigms in natural sciences - Experiences from 40 years of structured ecological modelling”
  

12:30-14:00 Lunch @ ETH Zentrum Main Building (Dozentenfoyer)

• 15:00-16:30 Working groups
  

16:30-16:45 Coffee break

• 16:45-18:15 Working groups
  

19:00+ Dinner @ Zurich downtown (open choice)

Saturday 18

08:00-08:45 Breakfast @ hotel

• 09:00-10:15 Working groups
  

10:15-10:45 Coffee break @ Hot Pasta restaurant (in front of our building)

• 10:45-12:15 Working groups
  

12:30-14:00 Lunch @ Hot Pasta restaurant (in front of our building)

• 15:00-16:30 Working groups presentations
  

16:30-16:45 Coffee break @ Hot Pasta restaurant (in front of our building)

• 16:45-18:15 Conclusions and organization of next steps
  

18:30 Departure

As for previous editions, specialists from many disciplines (Economics, Evolutionary cognitive sciences, Ecology, Game, Robotics, Industry, Parallel and distributed simulation, Computer engineering…) are invited to the seminar. Every specialist writes a position research article (5-8 pages) discussing the use of activity in his or her domain. Every paper should be ready before the seminar.

Every article will be peer-reviewed by two other invited scientists. All position research articles aim at being developed and included in a journal special issue.

Accommodation and lunch are offered to the participants. Travel and dinner expenses are not supported by the seminar organization, excepting for one courtesy Welcome Dinner to be scheduled.

At the seminar, theory and application oriented workshops will be organized to compare and integrate contributions.

• December 23, 2013: Position paper submission (6 pages)
• January 6, 2014: Early feedback to authors
• January 16-18, 2014: Seminar

• IEEE CISE Magazine: February 28, 2014: End of contributions; March 31, 2014: End of interactions; April 15, 2014:Submission.
• Proceedings (example): March 31, 2014: Final position papers (6-8 pages).
• September 30, 2014: Submission to special issue journal.

The directives for arriving from highway, train station or Zurich airport can be found here.

From the airport, there is the excellent Tramway Number 10 that drops you just in front of the hotel, and also a Shuttle Service: check here for more information.

Frequent Airport connections by Tram

Airport –> Hotel from 05:48 to 23:33 All 15 minutes (03, 18, 33, 48) and weekday from 6 to 9 as well as 16 to 20 all 7 minutes. See the Timetable.

Hotel –> Airport from 05:10 to 00:25 Monday – Friday: All 15 minutes (10, 25, 40, 55) and all 7 minutes between 6:00 and 8:30 and 15:00 and 19:00. Saturday an Sunday: All 15 minutes. See the Timetable.

If you have special needs please do not hesitate contacting the hotel administration and/or the workshop organization !

See the map here for the two possible walking paths from the Hotel (“B”) to destinations “A” or “C”, both leading to the CHN Building. Path to “C” includes relatively steep stairways.

Single rooms have been already reserved for all attendees (those listed in the doodle as coming or if-need-be as of November 15, 2013) under the group name “ETH-ACTIMS 2014”. Reservation confirmation is mandatory, read below.

The hotel is the Comfort Hotel Royal Zurich, at walking distance from the workshop's building (ETH CHN Building) and very close to the main touristic area of Zurich.

The reservation has been made to include the days and nights of January 15 (arrival), 16 and 17 of 2014. Departure is during Saturday 18. WiFi and City Taxes are included. (see conditions for reservation customization below)

The current reservation will hold only until 06/01/2014.

Before that date a confirmation must be given to the hotel for each passenger, otherwise the reservation will drop automatically.

Last minute cancellation and fine policy: An already confirmed reservation can be canceled free of charge until 13/01/2014. After that date a fine of an amount equivalent to one night will be charged to the passenger (CHF 167.5)

The fee for the workshop is CHF 350 (Swiss Francs).

It includes accommodation, breakfasts, lunches, and coffee breaks (potentially also some extras, to be defined).

The payment must be done before 06/01/2014, either via bank wire transfer (to the workshop organization, see Option 1 below) or with Credit Card (via the hotel, see Option 2 below).

• Contact the workshop organization (Rodrigo Castro) asking for the ETH's bank account information, and transfer the amount of the Fee.
• We will then confirm your room reservation on your behalf.
• Receipt for the Fee: Ask the organizers for a ETH's letterhead stating the correct reception of the payment and the reason.
• In case you cancel after 13/01/2014 the organization will handle the hotel penalization for you.

• Contact personally the hotel (Mrs. Silvia Steiger), name the “ETH-ACTIMS 2014” event, and pay with your credit card only an amount equal to the Fee of the Workshop (CHF 350).
• Receipt for the Fee: Ask the hotel for a commercial receipt and/or ask the organizers for a ETH's letterhead stating the correct reception of the payment and the reason.
• In case you cancel after 13/01/2014 the hotel will charge the penalization to your credit card.

You can contact directly Mrs. Silvia Steiger at the hotel in order to modify your stay at will (arriving earlier, departing later, room upgrades, etc.)

Extra charges shall be handled individually by each passenger, and the payment procedure will also be arranged between the passenger and the hotel.

As a group member of ETH-ACTIMS 2014 you are entitled to benefit from the special rates for ETH contingents.

• FRES FR CNRS 3041, University of Corsica
• Terrestrial Systems Ecology Group, DUSYS, ETH Zurich
• Neuroconf project, PEPS (CNRS, INRIA, Inserm)
• I3S lab (UMR7271 CNRS), Bio-info team.