Fielded Object Networks and Semiotic Engineering Techniques in Intelligent Systems

This work introduces a first proposal on how to use semiotics in order to improve software engineering methods, when intelligent autonomous systems are targeted. First we investigate the current flaws in software engineering, concerning intelligent autonomous systems. Then we propose a knowledge taxonomy, based on semiotic ideas, aiming a tool to understand the information domain of intelligent autonomous systems. Further, we illustrate on how to use the notion of knowledge types during the development of a simple intelligent autonomous system, emphasizing the relationship between the described types of knowledge aiming at the understanding on how they are organized into an intelligent autonomous system. After that we review the idea of generalized subsistence machine (GSM) proposed by Meystel as a possible tool (not the unique nor the best one) to represent the information domain of intelligent autonomous systems. Further, it is shown how both ideas might be used in the requirement analysis step of any software engineering method when an intelligent autonomous system is targeted. Finally, the design and implementation steps are discussed. As a conclusion, we discuss the future works and trends of semiotic intelligent autonomous systems engineering.