Simulation Approaches for System of Systems: Events-based versus Agent Based Modeling

In order to understand how we may engineer system of systems (SoS), we will have to rely significantly on our abilities in modeling and simulation. While there are some models of non-specific SoS, few attempts have been made to demonstrate these models with simulation. Simulations of SoS are usually specific cases. Likewise, in the description of a SoS, most of the approaches have focused on their characterization, yet this characterization has not been greatly utilized as an underlying feature in the modeling and simulation of SoS. We review different modeling techniques and use two converse techniques, i.e. agent-based and event-based modeling, to run a simulation of hypothetical systems collaborating into a SoS. The results of the empirical comparison indicate an agent-based modeling approach would achieve a characterization model better with validation achieved through an event-based approach.