ION Framework --- A Simulation Environment for Worlds with Virtual Agents

Agents cannot be decoupled from their environment. An agent perceives and acts in a world and the model of the world influences how the agent makes decisions. Most systems with virtual embodied agents simulate the environment within a specific realization engine such as the graphics engine. As a consequence, these agents are bound to a particular kind of environment which compromises their reusability across different applications. We propose the ION Framework, a framework for simulating virtual environments which separates the simulation environment from the realization engine. In doing so, it facilitates the integration and reuse of the several components of the system. The ION Framework was used to create several 3D virtual worlds populated with autonomous embodied agents that were tested with hundreds of users.