An uncertainty interchange format for multi-agent systems based on imprecise probabilities

In multi-agent systems, there is the need to exchange uncertain information between distinct and independently developed software components. This requires that such components share a common uncertainty interchange format and poses, therefore, a serious and still poorly considered problem, in face of the variety of existing uncertainty theories. In fact, imposing that all components adopt the same uncertainty theory is often unrealistic. Defining a common uncertainty interchange format, able to guarantee compatibility with several different approaches, is an open research problem. In this paper we discuss the basic issues that need to be dealt with to face such a problem and formulate an initial proposal based on imprecise probabilities.