Using coalgebra and coinduction to define ontology-based multi-agent systems

In the past, algebra has been predominantly used to define computer systems. However, computer systems are becoming more dynamic nowadays and algebra is not suitable anymore to define such systems. For this reason, coalgebra and coinduction have been introduced into the computer and information society. Coalgebra and coinduction present a powerful mechanism for representing many different kinds of dynamic systems using a common formal framework. Some dynamic systems, such as streams, automata and formal power series, have been viewed coalgebraically. However, ontology-based multiagent systems have not been viewed coalgebraically yet. That is the aim of this paper. We make use of coinductive reasoning to provide a framework and define a dynamic process within the ontology-based multi-agent system. The principle is illustrated on an ontologybased multi-agent system specially designed to retrieve human disease information intelligently from a variety of heterogeneous and distributed information resources.