Hank is designed to run on a wide-range of platforms, from modest workstations to high-end multi-processor computers with state-of-the-art image generators. The base system provides source code for a complete, working simulator. Component interfaces are well-specified so that programmers can substitute their own versions of the major components. Hank is designed for experimentation and play.
Special emphasis is placed on the development of technology supporting applications that use interactive simulation to study human driving behavior. Hank contains a powerful and flexible mechanism for programming scenarios and the behaviors of vehicles, pedestrians, and other entities through Hierarchical Concurrent State Machines (HCSM)[4].