Simulation in Contexts Involving an Interactive Table and Tangible Objects

Sébastien Kubicki (1) , Yoann Lebrun (2) , Sophie Lepreux (2) , Emmanuel Adam (2) , Christophe Kolski (2) , René Mandiau (2)

1 Lab-STICC_ENIB_CID_IHSEV
2 LAMIH - Laboratoire d'Automatique, de Mécanique et d'Informatique industrielles et Humaines - UMR 8201

By using an interactive table, it is possible to interact with several people (decision-makers) in a simultaneous and collaborative way, around the table, during a simulation session. Thanks to the RFID technology with which the table is fitted, it is possible to give tangible objects a unique identity to include and to consider them in the simulation. The paper describes a context model, which takes into consideration the specificities related to interactive tables. The TangiSense interactive table is presented; it is connected to a multi-agent system making it possible to give the table a certain level of adaptation: each tangible object can be associated to an agent which can bring roles to the object (i.e., the roles are the equivalent of a set of behaviors). The multi-agent system proposed in this paper is modeled according to an architecture adapted to the exploitation of tangible and virtual objects during simulation on an interactive table. A case study is presented; it concerns a simulation of road traffic management. The illustrations give an outline of the potentialities of the simulation system as regards the context-awareness aspect, following both the actions of the decision-makers implied in simulation, and the agents composing the road traffic simulation.

Mots clés: Simulation; Interactive table; Tangible objects; RFID; Multi-agent system

Domaines: Modélisation et simulation; Interface homme-machine [cs.HC]; Système multi-agents [cs.MA]; Informatique ubiquitaire

Sébastien Kubicki, Yoann Lebrun, Sophie Lepreux, Emmanuel Adam, Christophe Kolski, et al.. Simulation in Contexts Involving an Interactive Table and Tangible Objects. Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory, 2013, 31, pp.116-131. ⟨10.1016/j.simpat.2012.10.012⟩. ⟨hal-00864161⟩