Formal Specification of Multi-Agent Systems: a Real World Case

In this paper the framework DESIRE, originally designed for formal specification of complex reasoning systems is used to specify a real-world multi-agent application on a conceptual level. Some extensions to DESIRE are introduced to obtain a useful formal specification framework for multi-agent systems

Compositional formal specification of multi-agent systems

In this paper it is investigated how multi-agent systems with complex agents can be designed and formally specified based on the notion of a compositional architecture. After identifying the types of knowledge required for an agent we formally define a multi-agent system. Moreover, a specific type of agent with various capabilities of reasoning and acting is given. Some essential patterns of integrated reasoning, communication and interaction with the material world are described. Finally, we present an overview of formal semantics for our approach

Modelling Distributed Industrial Processes in a Multi-Agent Framework

A declarative compositional modelling framework, DESIRE, designed to model\nknowledge-intensive multi-agent systems, is shown to provide a means to\nmodel distributed industrial and business processes. An agent's knowledge,\nreasoning processes and interaction with other agents, and the world are\nexplicitly specified within this framework. Electricity transportation\nmanagement is used to illustrate the characteristic elements of the approach,\nin particular with respect to dynamic aspects of distributed industrial\nand business processes; aspects which are of importance to knowledge management\nand knowledge engineering