RAFALE-SP: a methodology to design and simulate geographical mobility

National audienceComplex processes, as geographical mobilities, cannot be always modeled by mathematical formulas or probability laws due to the number of parameters that characterize their behavior. For this reason, simulation is generally used to study movements in these systems. Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) are an interesting and intuitive way to model such complex systems as they di- vide the whole problem into simple ones. However, in this domain, there is a lack of a global methodology that supports scientists from the design to the implementation of a simulator. In this article we present the RAFALE-SP methodology that helps out the developer in the con- struction of spatial mobility models and in their simulation. The methodology is implemented in a framework that is composed of an oriented meta-model to describe spatial mobilities and an oriented toolkit to implement mobility simulators. This paper gives a complete description of the methodology and its concepts then it presents how to use it for the implementation of a simulator