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Panel Summary: Agent Development Tools
This panel (and a corresponding paper track) sought to examine the state of the art (or lack thereof) in tools for developing agents and agent systems. In this context, “tools” include complete agent programming environments, testbeds, environment si... expand abstractmulators, component libraries, and specification tools. In the past few years, the field has gone collapse abstract
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From Abstract Qualities to Concrete Specification using Guidance Policies ∗ (Extended Abstract)
This research describes a formal method for transforming abstract qualities into concrete specification in the form of policies within a multiagent system design methodology. Categories and Subject Descriptors D.2.1 [Software Engineering]: Requiremen... expand abstractts/Specifications— collapse abstract
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Abstract Requirement Analysis in Multiagent System Design
Abstract—“Good, fast, or cheap, pick two. ” What drives designers to make decisions on how to architect a system? The stake-holder has certain abstract qualities in mind: efficiency, quality, reliability, and so forth. How do we make sure our system ... expand abstractis guided by these qualities? What happens when the system cannot always provide all the qualities? We describe a framework for analyzing a design allowing decisions about what qualities are more important to be made at design-time. Keywords-policy; norms; AOSE; O-MaSE; guidance; I. collapse abstract
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Analysis and Design using MaSE and agentTool
This paper provides an overview of the work being done at the Air Force Institute of Technology on the Multiagent Systems Engineering methodology and the associated agentTool environment. Our research is focused on discovering methods and techniques ... expand abstractfor engineering practical multiagent systems. It uses the abstraction provided by multiagent systems for developing intelligent, distributed software systems. collapse abstract
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Leveraging Organizational Guidance Policies with Learning to Self-Tune Multiagent Systems
As organization-based multiagent systems are applied to more complex problems, configuring and tuning the systems can become nearly as complex as the original problem a system was designed to solve. A robust system should be able to adapt. It should ... expand abstractbe able to self-configure and selftune. To this end, we propose a method for self-tuning using the concept of guidance policies, that is policies that are designed to guide the system without sacrificing its flexibility. Guidance policies allow us to apply traditional learning techniques online without many of the drawbacks associated with a system falling into a local optimum. They also help simplify the learning process. We examine the impact of this learning on various multiagent systems. 1 collapse abstract
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Applying Agent Oriented Software Engineering to Cooperative Robotics
This paper reports our progress in applying multiagent systems analysis and design techniques to autonomous robotics applications. In this paper, we apply the Multiagent Systems Engineering (MaSE) methodology to design a team of autonomous, heterogen... expand abstracteous search and rescue robots. MaSE provides a top-down approach to building multirobotic systems instead of the bottom up approach employed in most robotic implementations. We follow the MaSE steps and discuss various approaches and their impact on the final system design. collapse abstract
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Verification of Agent Behavioral Models
Intelligent software agents are becoming very popular. They are ideal for solving distributed problems that are too difficult for a non-distributed system to solve. Distributed agents can be used to retrieve, filter, and summarize information as ... expand abstractwell as provide intelligent user interfaces. However, multiagent systems are very complicated to build and must be dependable. Agent conversation protocols, a series of messages passed between agents, are the cornerstone of multiagent systems. Agents also have tasks associated with them that specify how an agent behaves. This paper introduces a formal methodology that automatically verifies the interaction between agents. Agent behavioral specifications are created graphically in the agentTool multiagent development environment. This graphical representation is then transformed into a formal modeling language called Promela that is analyzed by Spin to ensure the interaction between agents is correct. This type of verification provides the user with another tool to ensure the system will perform as expected. collapse abstract
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Design Issues for Mixed-Initiative Agent Systems
This paper addresses the effect of mixed-initiative systems on multiagent systems design. A mixed-initiative system is one in which humans interact directly with software agents in a collaborative approach to problem solving. There are two main l... expand abstractevels at which multiagent systems are designed: the domain level and the individual agent level. At the domain level, there are few unique challenges to mixedinitiative system design. However, at the individual agent level, the agent itself must be designed to interact with the human and the agent system, integrating the two into a single system. collapse abstract
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Designing and Specifying Mobility within the Multiagent Systems Engineering Methodology
Recently, researchers have created many platforms and applications for mobile agents; however, current Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) methodologies have yet not fully integrated the unique properties of these mobile agents. This paper att... expand abstractempts to bridge the gap between current AOSE methodologies and mobile agent systems by incorporating mobility into the established Multiagent Systems Engineering (MaSE) methodology. We accomplished this by adding a move command to the MaSE analysis models and then defined the required transformations to incorporate the required functionality into the design. Finally, we translated the design models into Java-based agents that operate within a mobile agent environment. 1. collapse abstract
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Exploiting Agent Oriented Software Engineering In Cooperative Robotics Search And Rescue
This paper reports our progress in applying multiagent systems analysis and design in the area of cooperative robotics. In this paper, we apply the Multiagent Systems Engineering (MaSE) methodology to design a team of autonomous, heterogeneous sear... expand abstractch and rescue robots. MaSE provides a top-down approach to building cooperative robotic systems instead of the bottom up approach employed in most robotic implementations collapse abstract
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Using Dynamic Capability Evaluation to Organize a Team of Cooperative, Autonomous Robots
entities that often must be decomposed to have deliverable outputs and used to identify the critical aspects of system requirements.
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Using Robots to Increase Interest of Technical Disciplines in Rural and Underserved Schools
In Kansas, there are many schools, due to a rural or underserved nature, that fall short in providing access to technical resources to further interest in science education. We have developed a program, using robots, to interest school children in te... expand abstractchnical disciplines. This program is targeted at schools that do not have people or financial resources to fund a similar program on their own. To make the program interesting, robots are utilized as the vehicle to excite children about science. Our experience indicates that robots are almost universally captivating for children of all ages, in our case, K-12 students. collapse abstract
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Integrating Ontologies into Multiagent Systems Engineering
Multiagent systems have received much attention in recent years due to their advantages in complex, distributed environments. A number of methodologies have been proposed for engineering multiagent systems, however, these methodologies do not adeq... expand abstractuately address the information domain of the system, which is an integral part of designing proper system execution. Previous work at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has developed a methodology for analyzing, designing, and developing multiagent systems, called Multiagent Systems Engineering (MaSE). This research extends the MaSE methodology to include the use of ontologies for information domain specification. The extensions allow the designer to specify information flow by using objects from the ontology as parameters in agent conversations. collapse abstract
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Agent-Based Mixed-Initiative Collaboration: The ABMIC project final report
The research looks at collaboration in general and planning in particular. Our project goal was to investigate agent-based frameworks for distributed collaborative planning using a goal-centered approach. One major thrust of the project was to examin... expand abstracte intelligent agent and multiagent system architectures to model distributed planning (i.e., teamwork). In a second thrust we looked at mixed-initiative systems in which a symbiosis between human and machine planners is the main objective. To demonstrate the problems and solutions we have tackled, we have built a number of prototypes that solve basic collaborative problems in both a small air campaign scenario and in a small business logistics scenario. Many of these programs are available on the Web. collapse abstract
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Integrating Ontologies into Multiagent Systems
Multiagent systems have received much attention in recent years due to their advantages in complex, distributed environments. A number of methodologies have been proposed for engineering multiagent systems, however, these methodologies do not adeq... expand abstractuately address the information domain of the system, which is an integral part of designing proper system execution. Previous work at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has developed a methodology for analyzing, designing, and developing multiagent systems, called Multiagent Systems Engineering (MaSE). This research extends the MaSE methodology to include the use of ontologies for information domain specification. The extensions allow the designer to specify information flow by using objects from the ontology as parameters in agent conversations. collapse abstract
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Organizational Model for Cooperative and Sustaining Robotic Ecologies
Introduction The use of robots to explore space has many advantages over using humans for the same task. However, a shortcoming of exploration using robotic entities has been the lack of ability to create sustainable teams with enough flexibility to... expand abstract perform numerous tasks, provide a high-level of versatility, and work as a cooperative team to satisfy mission critical goals. The ability for a robotic colony to create and sustain itself, in the long-term, in a planetary or space environment, will require the flexibility to reorganize and reform itself to meet and overcome continuous, unforeseen challenges. Our research deals with the development of an organizational model and implementation that allows a robotic team to continuously pursue mission goals. While working through tasks to accomplish the goal(s), the team will examine its current operational state and decide whether goal satisfaction can occur by utilizing the current organization or if a more efficient organization, consist collapse abstract
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Analysis and Design of Multiagent Systems Using Hybrid Coordination Media
Over the last few years, two advances in agent-oriented software engineering have had a significant impact. The first is the identification of interaction and coordination as the central focus of multiagent systems design and the second is the r... expand abstractealization that the multiagent organization is distinct from the individual agents that populate the system. Also, the evolution of new, more powerful hybrid coordination models, which combine data-centered and control-centered coordination approaches, have given us the capability to model and implement the rules that govern organizations independently from the individual agents in the system. This paper investigates how to combine the power of these hybrid coordination capabilities with the concept of organizational rules using traditional conversation-based approaches to designing multiagent systems. 1. collapse abstract
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Heterogeneous Database Integration Using Agent-Oriented Information Systems
: The Department of Defense (DOD) has an extensive family of models used to simulate the mission level interaction of weapon systems. Interoperability and reuse of the underlying data files used to create simulation scenarios pose great challenges in... expand abstract this regard. Unlike traditional data integration methods common to federated database research, the emerging field of agent-oriented information systems (AOIS) views data as the central focus of an application while also providing an overall architectural framework for application development. We develop an AOIS solution relevant to this problem domain by combining object-oriented data modeling (OMT), a persistent programming language using a commercial objectoriented database (ObjectStore#), and an agentoriented analysis and design methodology (MaSE). Requirements from a contractor-led effort at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) known as CERTCORT are the basis for analysis and design of our system. We implement prototypical information-layer applications to conceptually demonstrate the reusability and integration of scenarios across simulation models. Keywords: AOIS, Agents, Modeling and Simulations, Heterogeneous Database Integration 1. collapse abstract
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Automatic Verification of Multiagent Conversations
As network bandwidth increases, distributed applications are becoming increasingly prevalent. Systems using these applications are very complicated to build and must be dependable. Software agents are ideal for breaking complicated problems into ... expand abstractmanageable subtasks. Agent conversations, a series of messages passed between agents, are the cornerstone of multiagent systems and must be deemed correct before being placed into service. This paper introduces a method to automatically verify that conversations are valid before employing them. Agent conversations are created graphically using state transition diagrams in the agentTool multiagent development environment. This graphical representation is then transformed into a formal modeling language called Promela that is analyzed by the Spin verification tool to detect errors such as deadlock, non-progress loops, syntax errors, unused messages, and unused states. Feedback is provided to the user automatically via text messages and graphical highlighting of error conditions. collapse abstract
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A Knowledge Base For Knowledge-Based Multiagent System Construction
. The goal of the agentTool project at the Air Force Institute of Technology is to specify, design, and semiautomatically generate multiagent systems. The key to this ability is an underlying knowledge base that manages the knowledge used by the syst... expand abstractem designer in creating intelligent agent-based software applications. This paper describes the Agent knowledge Interchange Mechanism (AIM), the agentTool knowledge base. There are four main components to AIM: the knowledge parser, the Multiagent Markup Language, the AIM domain model, and the Agent-oriented Random-Access Meta-Structure (ARAMS). AIM is implemented using a multiagent system architecture that permits multiple developers to share a single knowledge base thus directly supporting collaborative system design and knowledge reuse. Key Words: Agent, multiagent system, knowledge, software, artificial intelligence 1. collapse abstract
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Specifying Agent Behavior as Concurrent Tasks
Software agents are currently the subject of much research in many interrelated fields. Unfortunately, there has not been enough emphasis on defining the techniques required to build practical agent systems. While many agent researchers refer to task... expand abstracts, few really define what they mean. Tasks not only define the internal processing an agent must perform, but also how interactions with other agents relate to internal processes. 1. collapse abstract
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Representing Object Models as Theories
Although techniques for using formal specifications have been progressing, methods for developing formal specifications themselves have improved little. To alleviate this problem, we propose a parallel refinement approach to specification acquisition... expand abstract wherethe designer uses an object-orientedspecification representation while an underlying specification composition system manipulates an equivalent theory-basedspecification. This paper presents the key to such a system --atheory-based object model. Our theory-based object model formally defines object-orientedconcepts in terms of algebraic theories and category theory operations. The theory-based object model provides the basis for the translation of the specification from a semi-formal, object-orientedrepresentation to a formal theory-based specification suitable for input to semi-automated software synthesis systems. 1 collapse abstract
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Category Theory Approach to Fusion of Wavelet-Based Features Scott A. DeLoach
This paper discusses the application of category theory as a unifying concept for formally developed information fusion systems. Category theory is a mathematically sound technique used to capture the commonalties and relationships between objects. T... expand abstracthis feature makes category theory a very elegant language for describing information fusion systems and the information fusion process itself. After an initial overview of category theory, the paper investigates the application of category theory to a wavelet based multisensor target recognition system, the Automatic Multisensor Feature-based Recognition System (AMFRS), which was originally developed using formal methods. 1. collapse abstract
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Automated Derivation of Complex Agent Architectures from Analysis Specifications
. Multiagent systems have been touted as a way to meet the need for distributed software systems that must operate in dynamic and complex environments. However, in order for multiagent systems to be effective, they must be reliable and robust. Eng... expand abstractineering multiagent systems is a non-trivial task, providing ample opportunity for even experts to make mistakes. Formal transformation systems can provide automated support for synthesizing multiagent systems, which can greatly improve their correctness and reliability. This paper describes a semi-automated transformation system that generates an agent's internal architecture from an analysis specification in the MaSE methodology. 1 collapse abstract
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An Overview of the Multiagent Systems Engineering Methodology
. To solve complex problems, agents work cooperatively with other agents in heterogeneous environments. We are interested in coordinating the local behavior of individual agents to provide an appropriate system-level behavior. The use of intellige... expand abstractnt agents provides an even greater amount of flexibility to the ability and configuration of the system itself. With these new intricacies, software development is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, it is critical that our processes for building the inherently complex distributed software that must run in this environment be adequate for the task. This paper introduces a methodology for designing these systems of interacting agents. 1. collapse abstract
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