Simulation software

For a new EU research project, I need to find suitable simulation software to model a robotic 'ecosystem' producing minerals from an underground mine. I already have the software to model the 3D geology, but need to marry it with a suitable discrete-event simulation system to model the operations over time - and produce an animation to show the results. The current front-runner is GPSS/H, but also looking at Arena, MATLAB/Simulink and other options. Need to keep the price down (a very limited budget) which probably eliminates MATLAB. Ideally I need a package which plays nice with Fortran. Either callable from, or offers a simple file interface with. Any suggestions?

I have used FTN95 / Clearwin+ for many years. From experience, start with a simple %gr screen model and apply animation, via updating the graphic status. It works very well with some simple graphical 'icons'. You can be very impressed by a simple approach. My simulation uses a fixed time step calculation, with graphics updated every 'n' steps. 1 year of 1 minute steps can take a long time !!

As for integrating with 'the software to model the 3D geology', this can be difficult, depending on how accessible this package is.

I have modelled material handling systems, from mine conveyors to bulk export ports with 20 berths; the challenge is to provide simple symbols that report the change (flow metres or level of storage in a bin or ship hold).

Give it a go !!

Many thanks, John - Indeed that is an option, not to use an external simulation package but simply to code the entire simulation in FTN95 and present the animation using Clearwin+ graphics. Integration with the geological model is then not a problem at all, because I have that already in FTN95 ! Designing symbols for the different robotic components isn't too much of a challenge, but as you say, representation of quantities of material moved from A to B would need careful design. And the trickiest part, whatever the software solution, will be capturing the meaning of whatever the robot engineers design!