Individual agents move, interact and spread disease through a population. Watch epidemics emerge from spatial interactions, not just mathematical equations — each person is simulated individually.
Agent-based modelling: each person has a state (susceptible, infected, recovered) and moves in 2D space. Infection spreads when susceptible and infected agents are close enough.
Adjust infection radius, transmission probability and recovery time. Add barriers, quarantine zones or vaccination programs to see their effect on the epidemic curve.
Agent-based models are used by epidemiologists to simulate real epidemics. During COVID-19, the Imperial College model (by Neil Ferguson's team) simulated individual movements across entire countries.