SPEEDSim: Spatial Population Dynamics Simulator

Ecology and Epidemiology

Published by: David Hiebeler
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Description

Spatial Population Ecological and Epidemiological Dynamics Simulator (SPEED Sim) is a tool that enables hands-on interactive exploration of the spatial dynamics of various computational models in population ecology and epidemiology. The app also provides several cellular automaton models as an introduction to these kinds of simulations.
This app has been used in numerous K-12 educational outreach venues, including:
* Expanding Your Horizons workshops to stimulate interest in STEM fields among middle-school girls
* 4-H workshops for middle- and high-school students
* Workshop at the Maine Science Festival
* Various visits to K-12 schools
* An exhibit at the Maine Discovery Museum, a children's museum in Bangor, Maine
The app currently includes twelve different models:
- Conway's Game of Life: a classic cellular automaton that was created by mathematician John Conway in 1970.
- Vants: (Langton's Virtual Ants) demonstrates how extremely complex behaviour can arise from a set of very simple rules.
- Majority/Voter: models peer pressure, genetic drift or the spread of opinions and ideas.
- Diffuse: physics model of particles randomly diffusing around (e.g. particles of ink in a jar of water)
- Diffusion-Limited Aggregation: models a process similar to crystallization, with diffusing particles aggregating out of solution.
- Cyclic Cellular Automaton: a generalized version of 'rock-paper-scissors.'
- SIRS epidemiological model
(Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered-Susceptible): demonstrates an infectious disease spreading through a population, where individuals have temporary immunity after recovering from the infection.
- Dispersal2: a population model where individuals disperse their offspring at two local scales.
- Fragmented Landscape:a population model with local and long-distance dispersal on a spatially structured heterogeneous landscape.
- Competitive Species: an extension of the Fragmented Landscape model above, but with two species competing for available habitat with different strategies.
- Block Disturbance: a spatial population ecology model where births occur individually, but when death occurs, entire blocks of sites go extinct simultaneously.
- Vaccinated Communities epidemiological model: shows how the dynamics of an infectious disease are affected not only by the total amount of vaccination in a population, but also by the variability in vaccination levels among different communities.
- Internet Worms: simulates the spread of malicious software spreading through the internet using biologically inspired dispersal strategies.
The simulation models allow you to change all parameters controlling the dynamics. Images of the detailed spatial dynamics can be displayed, as well as graphs summarizing the behavior over time. Both types of images can be saved to the Photos library. New patterns can be interactively drawn in the system by simply moving your finger around on the lattice. You can also pinch-to-zoom, and then pan around using two fingers.
Most of the models allow you to load images from the camera and run simulations on them. Tap the Options menu at the bottom of the Lattice screen to load images from the camera or the Photos library. For example: load the Diffuse model, turn on Walls mode in the Parameters tab, and then run the model on a photo of yourself.
Note that the simulations are generally computational intensive and will run more quickly on newer iOS devices or when you select a smaller lattice size. The speed adjuster brought up from the Options menu near the bottom of the Lattice screen lets you slow down the simulation to observe the dynamics more closely. The larger screen on iPads allows for a much nicer interface, but the app is fully functional on iPhones and iPod Touches as well.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DMS-0718786 and DMS-0746603 to David Hiebeler.
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SPEEDSim FAQ

  • Is SPEEDSim free?

    Yes, SPEEDSim is completely free and it doesn't have any in-app purchases or subscriptions.

  • Is SPEEDSim legit?

    🤔 The SPEEDSim app's quality is mixed. Some users are satisfied, while others report issues. Consider reading individual reviews for more context.

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  • How much does SPEEDSim cost?

    SPEEDSim is free.

  • What is SPEEDSim revenue?

    To get estimated revenue of SPEEDSim app and other AppStore insights you can sign up to AppTail Mobile Analytics Platform.

User Rating
App is not rated in Sweden yet.
Ratings History

SPEEDSim Reviews

Freeze!

rocked09 on

United States

Everytime i open this app, instantly frozen. (Fix it, Swat that freeze bug)

App freezes on startup

Vixolux on

United States

I have the latest iOS version (iOS 16.5 (20F66) )on an iPhone 14 pro max and when I open this app it freezes in the selection screen. Please fix it, the app looks very interesting.

Nada thing

Rollcone on

United States

Frozen , solid

Bug

5 guis on

United States

Any time I open the app, I can't interact with anything, the app is basically frozen.

Does not work on the latest iOS

dgemm on

United States

It needs to be updated.

Problem with latest iPhone OS

SigHolmes on

United States

I have always liked this application, but when I installed it on this iPhone it will only run in museum mode. The menu bar is locked out and I cannot run it as a regular user. I will probably write the developer to see whether he has any advice. I wonder if anyone else has the same problem.

I love this!

Dimetrex on

United States

I have always been fascinated with simulations, and this one is amazing! I could spend hours in this mere 8.6 MB of information. The update with lessons was a genius move, but the app still needs some way to type in parameter values for any sort of preciseness. P.S. Do you need/want money? If so, I would be more than happy if you added a way to donate.

I like it

Hyperbolee on

United States

Great learning and exploration tool. Can I suggest not restricting parameter selection to sliders. Some values are very hard to set on a phone screen.

An excellent app

slugmuffin on

United States

I have nothing but good things to say about this fantastic application my only hope is that the developers add the remainder of the lessons

Very interesting / Educational

ACBoon on

United States

These simulations are very well done and provide a great deal of entertaining engagement. It is fascinating to set up the simulation parameters and explore the response runs. I enjoy the different sim explanations and the ability to change back and forth from pixels to a graph. 5 stars because I believe the app and the work to get to this point is worth it. There is a bug that hangs up the app (full stop crash) when you hit reset before pausing the simulation. It then crashes before fully loading when trying to re-open right away. This would be resolved by a better UI to control the runs (ex. Prevent access to the reset button during a sim). Also, It took me way to long to find this in the App Store even when I knew what I was looking for. It does not come up with various combinations of "Game of Life" "Speed" and "Simulation". I'm sure more folks would find this app interesting if it were easier to find.

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