Visual Execution Analysis for Multiagent Systems

Multiagent systems have become increasingly important in developing complex software systems. Multiagent systems introduce collective intelligence and provide benefits such as flexibility, scalability, decentralization, and increased reliability. A software agent is a high-level software abstraction that is capable of performing given tasks in an environment without human intervention. Although multiagent systems provide a convenient and powerful way to organize complex software systems, developing such system is very complicated. To help manage this complexity this research develops a methodology and technique for analyzing, monitoring and troubleshooting multiagent systems execution. This is accomplished by visualizing a multiagent system at multiple levels of abstraction to capture the relationships and dependencies among the agents

Analysis and design of multiagent systems using MAS-CommonKADS

This article proposes an agent-oriented methodology called MAS-CommonKADS and develops a case study. This methodology extends the knowledge engineering methodology CommonKADSwith techniquesfrom objectoriented and protocol engineering methodologies. The methodology consists of the development of seven models: Agent Model, that describes the characteristics of each agent; Task Model, that describes the tasks that the agents carry out; Expertise Model, that describes the knowledge needed by the agents to achieve their goals; Organisation Model, that describes the structural relationships between agents (software agents and/or human agents); Coordination Model, that describes the dynamic relationships between software agents; Communication Model, that describes the dynamic relationships between human agents and their respective personal assistant software agents; and Design Model, that refines the previous models and determines the most suitable agent architecture for each agent, and the requirements of the agent network

Supporting Dynamicity in Emergency Response Applications

Multiagent Systems are a promising paradigm for software development. It is feasible to model such systems with many components where each one can solve a specific problem. This division of responsibilities allows multiagent systems to work in dynamically changing environments. An example of an environment that is very changeable is related with emergencies management. Emergency management systems depend on the cooperation of all their components due to their specialization. In order to obtain this cooperation, the components need to interact with each other and adapt their interactions depending on their purpose and the system components they are interacting with. Also, new components may arrive on the scene, which must be informed about the interaction policies that original components are using. Although Multiagent Systems are suited to managing scenarios of this kind, their effectiveness depends on their capacity to dynamically modify and adapt the protocols that control the interactions among agents in the system. In this paper, an infrastructure to support dynamically changing interaction protocols is presented

Multiagent Systems Engineering: A Methodology for Analysis and Design of Multiagent Systems

This thesis defines a methodology for the creation of multiagent systems, the Multiagent Systems Engineering (MaSE) methodology. The methodology is a key issue in the development of any complex system and there is currently no standard or widely used methodology in the realm of multiagent systems. MaSE covers the entire software lifecycle, starting from an initial prose specification, and creating a set of formal design documents in a graphical style based on a formal syntax. The final product of MaSE is a diagram describing the deployment of a system of intelligent agents that communicate through structured conversations. MaSE was created with the mention of being supported by an automated design tool. The tool built to support MaSE, agent Tool, is a multiagent system development tool for designing and synthesizing complex multiagent systems

Comparing Agent Software Development Methodologies Using the Waterfall Model

This paper explores three widely published agent-based software development methodologies, Multiagent Systems Engineering Methodology (MaSE), Prometheus, and Tropos, using the traditional Waterfall model of software engineering as a baseline. Differences between the methodologies are examined and gaps between the agent-based methodologies and the Waterfall approach are identified

Affect and believability in game characters:a review of the use of affective computing in games

Virtual agents are important in many digital environments. Designing a character that highly engages users in terms of interaction is an intricate task constrained by many requirements. One aspect that has gained more attention recently is the effective dimension of the agent. Several studies have addressed the possibility of developing an affect-aware system for a better user experience. Particularly in games, including emotional and social features in NPCs adds depth to the characters, enriches interaction possibilities, and combined with the basic level of competence, creates a more appealing game. Design requirements for emotionally intelligent NPCs differ from general autonomous agents with the main goal being a stronger player-agent relationship as opposed to problem solving and goal assessment. Nevertheless, deploying an affective module into NPCs adds to the complexity of the architecture and constraints. In addition, using such composite NPC in games seems beyond current technology, despite some brave attempts. However, a MARPO-type modular architecture would seem a useful starting point for adding emotions

An agent-based architecture for managing the provision of community care - the INCA (Intelligent Community Alarm) experience

Community Care is an area that requires extensive cooperation between independent agencies, each of which needs to meet its own objectives and targets. None are engaged solely in the delivery of community care, and need to integrate the service with their other responsibilities in a coherent and efficient manner. Agent technology provides the means by which effective cooperation can take place without compromising the essential security of both the client and the agencies involved as the appropriate set of responses can be generated through negotiation between the parties without the need for access to the main information repositories that would be necessary with conventional collaboration models. The autonomous nature of agents also means that a variety of agents can cooperate together with various local capabilities, so long as they conform to the relevant messaging requirements. This allows a variety of agents, with capabilities tailored to the carers to which they are attached to be developed so that cost-effective solutions can be provided. </p

Knowledge Modelling in Multiagent Systems: The Case of the Management of a National Network

This paper presents the knowledge model of a distributed decision support system, that has been designed for the management of a national network in Ukraine. It shows how advanced Artificial Intelligence techniques (multiagent systems and knowledge modelling) have been applied to solve this real-world decision support problem: on the one hand its distributed nature, implied by different loci of decision-making at the network nodes, suggested to apply a multiagent solution; on the other, due to the complexity of problem-solving for local network administration, it was useful to apply knowledge modelling techniques, in order to structure the different knowledge types and reasoning processes involved. The paper sets out from a description of our particular management problem. Subsequently, our agent model is described, pointing out the local problem-solving and coordination knowledge models. Finally, the dynamics of the approach is illustrated by an example

MULTIAGENT SYSTEMS FOR SHOP FLOOR ARHITECTURE MANAGEMENT

The paper presents the problem of shop floor agility. In order to cope with the disturbances and uncertainties that characterise the current business scenarios faced by manufacturing companies, the capability of their shop floors needs to be improved quickly, such that these shop floors may be adapted, changed or become easily modifiable (shop floor reengineering). One of the critical elements in any shop floor reengineering process is the way the control/supervision architecture is changed or modified to accommodate for the new process and equipment. This paper, therefore, proposes an multi-agent architecture to support the fast adaptation or changes in the control/supervision architecture.multi-agent system, shop floor agility, control/supervision architecture, virtual organisation.

Agent-oriented software engineering methodologies : analysis and future directions

The Internet of Things (IoT) facilitates in building cyber-physical systems, which are significant for Industry 4.0. Agent-based computing represents effective modeling, programming, and simulation paradigm to develop IoT systems. Agent concepts, techniques, methods, and tools are being used in evolving IoT systems. Over the last years, in particular, there has been an increasing number of agent approaches proposed along with an ever-growing interest in their various implementations. Yet a comprehensive and full-fledged agent approach for developing related projects is still lacking despite the presence of agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE) methodologies. One of the moves towards compensating for this issue is to compile various available methodologies, ones that are comparable to the evolution of the unified modeling language (UML) in the domain of object-oriented analysis and design. These have become de facto standards in software development. In line with this objective, the present research attempts to comprehend the relationship among seven main AOSE methodologies. More specifically, we intend to assess and compare these seven approaches by conducting a feature analysis through examining the advantages and limitations of each competing process, structural analysis, and a case study evaluation method. This effort is made to address the significant characteristics of AOSE approaches. The main objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of selected AOSE methodologies and provide a proposal of a draft unified approach that drives strengths (best) of these methodologies towards advancement in this area.publishedVersio