Heatbugs is a free and easy to use, simple agent-based model to show behavior analogous to that of biological communities. A "heatbug" gives off heat, and tries to maintain an optimum temperature in its immediate vicinity.
Each heatbug is given its own optimum temperature, within a range. If a heatbug is either too hot or too cold, it will have a greater tendency to move, looking for an area closer to its optimum temperature.
At the initial defaults, the groups are relatively stable, as their members together generate enough heat to keep them within their preferred temperature ranges. Varying the model settings will result in widely varying behaviors.
The model behavior is controlled by these settings: · DiffusionConstant: rate at which heat diffuses from an area to its neighboring areas. A higher rate means heat diffuses faster. · EvapRate: rate at which heat "evaporates" from the world · MaxIdealTemp: maximum ideal temperature for heatbugs · MinIdealTemp: minimum ideal temperature for heatbugs · MinOutputHeat: amount of heat that a heatbug generates · NumBugs: the number of heatbugs · WorldXSize: the number of cells in the world in the X dimension · WorldYSize: the number of cells in the world in the Y dimension
