Multilevel modeling is increasingly relevant in the context of modelling and simulation since it leads to several potential benefits, such as software reuse and integration, the split of semantically separated levels into sub-models, the possibility to employ different levels of detail, and the potential for parallel execution. The coupling that inevitably exists between the sub-models, however, implies the need for maintaining consistency between the various components, more so when different simulation paradigms are employed (e.g., sequential vs parallel, discrete vs continuous). In this paper we argue that multilevel modelling is well suited for the simulation of human mobility, since it naturally leads to the decomposition of the model into two layers, the "micro" and "macro" layer, where individual entities (micro) and long-range interactions (macro) are described. In this paper we investigate the challenges of multilevel modeling, and describe some preliminary results using prototype implementations of multilayer simulators in the context of epidemic diffusion and vehicle pollution.

翻译：多层次建模在建模与模拟领域中越来越具相关性，因为它能带来多种潜在优势，例如软件复用与集成、将语义分离的层级拆分为子模型、可采用不同细节层次，以及支持并行执行的可能性。然而，子模型之间必然存在的耦合意味着需要维护各组件间的一致性，尤其是在采用不同模拟范式（如顺序与并行、离散与连续）时更为关键。本文认为，多层次建模非常适合人类移动性的模拟，因为它能自然地将模型分解为“微观”层与“宏观”层两个层次，分别描述个体实体（微观）与长程交互（宏观）。本文探讨了多层次建模面临的挑战，并利用多层模拟器的原型实现，在流行病传播和车辆污染背景下描述了初步结果。