Shifting the Focus from Control to Communication: the STReams OBjects Environments Model of Communicating Agents

The paper presents the computational model underlying new agent communication languages. The model, called STROBE, has been identified and two prototypical languages inspired by the model have been implemented. In order to describe unambiguously the STROBE model we have chosen to use a formal programming language, i.e. Scheme. STROBE shows how generic communication may be described and implemented by means of STReams of pragmatically marked messages to be exchanged by agents represented as OBjects interpreting messages in multiple Environments. The model, therefore, is at the same time a software architecture and a proposal for a lexicon potentially useful for exchanging efforts in emergent agent technologies. An outline of the expected functionality’s of the languages under development may allow to appreciate if and how they may fit the expected ones, i.e. cognitive simplicity for designing and controlling multi-agent generic dialogues, including human and artificial communication facilities.