Virus Simulation

Image of the Simulation
Simulation when in "debug" mode. Destinations are marked by pink squares.

Inspiration

Unsurprisingly, we were inspired by current events regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to create a simulation that would allow us and others to understand the parameters affecting the spread of such viruses through experimentation and visual representation.

How We Built It

We used cellular automata to simulate the behavior of a local community with individuals exposed to a virus. The grid-space is rendered using methods from the P5.js library, and the cellular automata were built using JavaScript.

Challenges

One of the most significant challenges we faced was related to simulating natural movement in the cellular automata and finding ideal paths. We also ran into some issues with overlapping buildings. By building a robust debug mode, we were able to handle many of the issues we came across quickly.

What We Learned

We learned how to use P5.js, which was new to us all and ended up being very handy in helping to render the grid-space and for debugging. The method P5 uses for drawing is different from what we had experienced before, and it took us some time to adapt to the new library and use it to its potential. We were also forced to become better JavaScript--which makes up 81.8% of our project--in order to implement our ideas.