Brooklyn College - Introduction to NetLogo - CIS 3.5

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NetLogo is a cross-platform multi-agent programmable modeling environment. NetLogo was authored by Uri Wilensky in 1999 and is under continuous development at the Center for Connected Learning at Northwestern University.

NetLogo is free of charge and can be downloaded here.

Introduction

We are using Netlogo to introduce the concepts behind computer agents. Using agents allows us to create models of very COMPLEX problems (weather, disease outbreaks, trade/traffic patterns) ask "what if" questions about those models and discover "emergent" phenomena.

4 parts of an Agent

Using NetLogo will also give you more hands on experience programming in a language that requires you to type in your own code.

Coding in NetLogo

(Remember, in SCRATCH it was very easy to put the blocks together. In Netlogo you have to create your own code and misspelling a word, or adding an extra space in a command will mean your program won't work.)

Netlogo is a far more complex and far more powerful than SCRATCH.

The complete programming manual for NetLogo can be found here .

Tutorials


There are 3 tutorials that you need to complete. Collectively these 3 tutorials will teach you the basics of programming in the NetLogo enviroment:

Tutorial #1: Models (15-20 minutes)

Tutorial #2: Commands (20-30 minutes)

Tutorial #3: Procedures (40-60 minutes)


Going Forward

Your final NetLogo project (Project IV) will involve extending an existing NetLogo project in some signifigant way OR creating your own NetLogo project.

1. Extending a NetLogo Project

The following project assumes that you have completed Tutorial #3: Procedures.
It is an example of how to expand upon (add complexity) an existing NetLogo model.
It will also teach you how to do several additional things not covered in the previous tutorials (such as including your own images for turtles).

Tutorial #4: Extending a Model

If you are thinking about extending a model, you should spend some time searching though the "model library".
An example of a suitable model for expanding (and how you might expand it) can be found here: http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/Mimicry

2. NetLogo Project Ideas:

  1. Model a nuclear reaction.
  2. Model a famous battle (fun with 3D settings).
  3. Create a game that has lots of agents ("Zombie Outbreak").
  4. (If you have taken intro-to-robotics) Create a simulation of any of the 3 "RoboCup junior challenges".