The Classification and Specification of a Domain Independent Agent Architecture

The use of multi-agent systems to model and control complex domains is increasing. The application of multi-agent systems to distributed real-world domains motivates the development of domain independent agent architectures to foster the re-use of existing research. A domain independent agent architecture is defined as a set of representations, reasoning mechanisms and algorithms that can be used to define the behavior of an agent. Ideally, a classification method for agent architectures should ease the process of requirements matching between domains and architectures by allowing system designers to understand the relationship between domains and architectures. This paper presents the need for a classification schema and proposes a starting point for future discussion. The Sensible Agent architecture is then introduced within the classification schema. Sensible Agents perceive, process, and respond based on an understanding of both local and system goals. The core capabilities and internal architecture of a Sensible Agent is given as an example of how accurate specifications can help foster the re-use of research. Accepted to 11th International Conference on Industrial & Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence & Expert Systems Castellon, Spain 1 June – 4 June, 1998 The Classification and Specification of a Domain Independent Agent Architecture A. Goel K.S. Barber The Laboratory for Intelligent Processes and Systems The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENS 240 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712-1084, USA e-mail: [email protected] Phone: (512) 471-6152 Fax: (512) 232-1739 Abstract The use of multi-agent systems to model and control complex domains is increasing. The application of multi-agent systems to distributed real-world domains motivates the development of domain independent agent architectures to foster the reuse of existing research. A domain independent agent architecture is defined as a set of representations, reasoning mechanisms and algorithms that can be used to define the behavior of an agent. Ideally, a classification method for agent architectures should ease the process of requirements matching between domains and architectures by allowing system designers to understand the relationship between domains and architectures. This paper presents the need for a classification schema and proposes a starting point for future discussion. The Sensible Agent architecture is then introduced within the classification schema. Sensible Agents perceive, process, and respond based on an understanding of both local and system goals. The core capabilities and internal architecture of a Sensible Agent is given as an example of how accurate specifications can help foster the re-use of research.The use of multi-agent systems to model and control complex domains is increasing. The application of multi-agent systems to distributed real-world domains motivates the development of domain independent agent architectures to foster the reuse of existing research. A domain independent agent architecture is defined as a set of representations, reasoning mechanisms and algorithms that can be used to define the behavior of an agent. Ideally, a classification method for agent architectures should ease the process of requirements matching between domains and architectures by allowing system designers to understand the relationship between domains and architectures. This paper presents the need for a classification schema and proposes a starting point for future discussion. The Sensible Agent architecture is then introduced within the classification schema. Sensible Agents perceive, process, and respond based on an understanding of both local and system goals. The core capabilities and internal architecture of a Sensible Agent is given as an example of how accurate specifications can help foster the re-use of research.