COSIMO: A cognitive simulation model of human decision making and behavior in accident management of complex plants

A cognitive simulation model (COSIMO) which simulates the behavior of an operator controlling a complex system during the management of accidents is described. Particular attention is paid to the theoretical foundations of the model, to its computational implementation, and to a number of simulations of man-machine system interactions. The approach followed in COSIMO is to build a structure for the various kinds of cognitive functions that are performed by an operator in complex environments, e.g., information seeking, pattern recognition and diagnosis, monitoring, planning, and acting on the system. For the implementation of COSIMO a blackboard architecture has been chosen. This architecture offers enough flexibility and modularity for modeling the overall state of the human and of the environment