<s>
Microsimulation	B-Application
(	O
from	O
microanalytic	O
simulation	O
or	O
microscopic	O
simulation	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
category	O
of	O
computerized	O
analytical	O
tools	O
that	O
perform	O
highly	O
detailed	O
analysis	O
of	O
activities	O
such	O
as	O
highway	O
traffic	O
flowing	O
through	O
an	O
intersection	O
,	O
financial	O
transactions	O
,	O
or	O
pathogens	O
spreading	O
disease	O
through	O
a	O
population	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsimulation	B-Application
is	O
often	O
used	O
to	O
evaluate	O
the	O
effects	O
of	O
proposed	O
interventions	O
before	O
they	O
are	O
implemented	O
in	O
the	O
real	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
traffic	O
microsimulation	B-Application
model	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
evaluate	O
the	O
effectiveness	O
of	O
lengthening	O
a	O
turn	O
lane	O
at	O
an	O
intersection	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
help	O
decide	O
whether	O
it	O
is	O
worth	O
spending	O
money	O
on	O
actually	O
lengthening	O
the	O
lane	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsimulation	B-Application
can	O
be	O
distinguished	O
from	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
computer	O
modeling	O
in	O
looking	O
at	O
the	O
interaction	O
of	O
individual	O
units	O
such	O
as	O
people	O
or	O
vehicles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
International	O
Microsimulation	B-Application
Association	O
,	O
defines	O
microsimulation	B-Application
as	O
a	O
modelling	O
technique	O
that	O
operates	O
at	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
individual	O
units	O
such	O
as	O
persons	O
,	O
households	O
,	O
vehicles	O
or	O
firms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
applied	O
econometrics	O
research	O
,	O
microsimulation	B-Application
is	O
used	O
to	O
simulate	O
the	O
behavior	O
of	O
individuals	O
over	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
microsimulation	B-Application
can	O
either	O
be	O
dynamic	O
or	O
static	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
microsimulation	B-Application
models	O
for	O
taxation	O
,	O
pensions	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
economic	O
and	O
financial	O
activity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
example	O
is	O
Pensim2	O
(	O
a	O
dynamic	O
microsimulation	B-Application
pension	O
model	O
)	O
which	O
dynamically	O
simulates	O
pension	O
income	O
for	O
the	O
next	O
50	O
years	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Euromod	O
is	O
a	O
static	O
microsimulation	B-Application
model	O
for	O
15	O
European	O
Union	O
states	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
North	O
American	O
microsimulation	B-Application
models	O
include	O
the	O
longitudinal	O
,	O
dynamic	O
microsimulation	B-Application
CORSIM	B-Application
,	O
and	O
daughter	O
models	O
DYNACAN	O
(	O
Canada	O
,	O
terminated	O
June	O
1	O
,	O
2009	O
)	O
and	O
POLISIM	O
(	O
United	O
States	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
U.S.	O
Department	O
of	O
Health	O
and	O
Human	O
Services	O
uses	O
the	O
static	O
microsimulation	B-Application
Transfer	O
Income	O
Model	O
(	O
TRIM	O
)	O
to	O
understand	O
the	O
potential	O
impacts	O
of	O
changes	O
to	O
tax	O
,	O
transfer	O
,	O
and	O
health	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econometric	O
microsimulation	B-Application
models	O
can	O
be	O
classified	O
into	O
two	O
types	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Closed	O
,	O
longitudinal	O
,	O
dynamic	O
microsimulation	B-Application
models	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
DYNACAN	O
and	O
Pensim2	O
)	O
begin	O
with	O
an	O
initial	O
population	O
that	O
is	O
only	O
modified	O
by	O
the	O
simulated	O
life	O
events	O
of	O
the	O
demographics	O
modules	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
fertility	O
,	O
mortality	O
and	O
migration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsimulation	B-Application
is	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
traffic	O
modelling	O
and	O
is	O
typified	O
by	O
software	O
packages	O
such	O
as	O
TransModeler	O
,	O
PTV	B-Application
VISSIM	I-Application
,	O
TSIS-CORSIM	B-Application
,	O
Cube	O
Dynasim	O
,	O
LISA+	O
,	O
Quadstone	O
Paramics	O
,	O
SiAS	O
,	O
Simtraffic	O
,	O
Aimsun	B-Application
,	O
and	O
MATSim	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Analytical	O
modelling	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
LINSIG	O
,	O
TRANSYT	O
,	O
TRANSYT-7F	B-Application
or	O
SIDRA	B-Application
INTERSECTION	I-Application
represent	O
a	O
different	O
class	O
of	O
models	O
based	O
on	O
mathematical	O
algorithms	O
representing	O
combinations	O
of	O
traffic	O
model	O
elements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Traffic	O
microsimulation	B-Application
models	O
simulate	O
the	O
behaviour	O
of	O
individual	O
vehicles	O
within	O
a	O
predefined	O
road	O
network	O
and	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
predict	O
the	O
likely	O
impact	O
of	O
changes	O
in	O
traffic	O
patterns	O
resulting	O
from	O
changes	O
to	O
traffic	B-Operating_System
flow	I-Operating_System
or	O
from	O
changes	O
to	O
the	O
physical	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsimulation	B-Application
has	O
its	O
greatest	O
strength	O
in	O
modelling	O
congested	O
road	O
networks	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
simulate	O
queueing	O
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsimulation	B-Application
models	O
will	O
continue	O
to	O
provide	O
results	O
at	O
high	O
degrees	O
of	O
saturation	O
,	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
point	O
of	O
absolute	O
gridlock	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
capability	O
makes	O
these	O
type	O
of	O
models	O
very	O
useful	O
to	O
analyse	O
traffic	O
operations	O
in	O
urban	O
areas	O
and	O
city	O
centers	O
,	O
including	O
interchanges	O
,	O
roundabouts	B-Application
,	O
unsignalized	O
and	O
signalized	O
intersections	O
,	O
signal	O
coordinated	O
corridors	O
,	O
and	O
area	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsimulation	B-Application
also	O
reflects	O
even	O
relatively	O
small	O
changes	O
in	O
the	O
physical	O
environment	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
narrowing	O
of	O
lanes	O
or	O
the	O
relocation	O
of	O
junction	O
stop	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
microsimulation	B-Application
modelling	O
has	O
gained	O
attention	O
in	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
visually	O
represent	O
predicted	O
traffic	O
behaviour	O
through	O
3D	O
animation	O
,	O
enabling	O
laypeople	O
such	O
as	O
politicians	O
and	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
to	O
fully	O
appreciate	O
the	O
impacts	O
of	O
a	O
proposed	O
scheme	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
advances	O
are	O
being	O
made	O
in	O
this	O
area	O
with	O
the	O
merging	O
of	O
microsimulation	B-Application
model	O
data	O
with	O
cinematic	O
quality	O
3D	O
animation	O
and	O
with	O
virtual	O
reality	O
by	O
such	O
companies	O
as	O
FORUM8	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pedestrian	O
or	O
agent	O
based	O
microsimulation	B-Application
has	O
grown	O
in	O
use	O
and	O
acceptance	O
within	O
industry	O
in	O
recent	O
years	O
;	O
these	O
systems	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
simulation	O
of	O
individual	O
people	O
moving	O
through	O
an	O
area	O
of	O
space	O
with	O
respect	O
to	O
analytics	O
measures	O
such	O
as	O
Space	O
Utilisation	O
,	O
Level	O
of	O
Service	O
,	O
Density	O
,	O
Packing	O
and	O
Frustration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
current	O
Traffic	O
microsimulation	B-Application
software	O
packages	O
are	O
combining	O
traffic	O
components	O
and	O
pedestrians	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
more	O
complete	O
systems	O
while	O
many	O
transitional	O
Crowd	O
Simulation	O
tools	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
refined	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
large	O
scale	O
urban	O
space	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
health	O
sciences	O
microsimulation	B-Application
generates	O
individual	O
life	O
histories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
examples	O
of	O
microsimulation	B-Application
models	O
in	O
health	O
sciences	O
have	O
been	O
brought	O
together	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
National	O
Cancer	O
Institute	O
's	O
CISNET	O
program	O
(	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Economic	O
and	O
health	O
approaches	O
to	O
microsimulation	B-Application
provide	O
insight	O
into	O
the	O
impacts	O
of	O
changes	O
in	O
environmental	O
,	O
economic	O
,	O
or	O
policy	O
conditions	O
on	O
a	O
given	O
population	O
of	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
understanding	O
lies	O
at	O
the	O
root	O
of	O
spatial	O
approaches	O
to	O
microsimulation	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
spatial	O
microsimulation	B-Application
refers	O
to	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
techniques	O
that	O
allow	O
the	O
characteristics	O
of	O
individuals	O
living	O
in	O
a	O
particular	O
area	O
to	O
be	O
approximated	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
constraint	O
variables	O
that	O
are	O
known	O
about	O
the	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
econometric	O
microsimulation	B-Application
,	O
spatial	O
microsimulation	B-Application
can	O
be	O
either	O
dynamic	O
or	O
static	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
include	O
interacting	O
or	O
passive	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guy	O
Orcutt	O
is	O
widely	O
cited	O
as	O
the	O
originator	O
of	O
spatial	O
microsimulation	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spatial	O
microsimulation	B-Application
has	O
high	O
computational	O
and	O
data	O
requirements	O
and	O
some	O
degree	O
of	O
computer	O
programming	O
is	O
a	O
prerequisite	O
to	O
setting	O
up	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
factors	O
have	O
led	O
to	O
rapid	O
growth	O
in	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
publications	O
on	O
spatial	O
microsimulation	B-Application
within	O
academic	O
geography	O
and	O
related	O
disciplines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emergence	O
of	O
user	O
friendly	O
and	O
low-cost	O
computer	O
software	O
with	O
which	O
microsimulation	B-Application
models	O
can	O
be	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
are	O
R	B-Language
,	O
Java	B-Language
,	O
and	O
Python	B-Language
,	O
each	O
of	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
classified	O
as	O
Free	B-Application
and	I-Application
open	I-Application
source	I-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
