Simulation testbed for sensible agent-based systems in dynamic and uncertain environments

Agent-based technologies can be applied to many aspects of manufacturing. The need for responsive, flexible agents is pervasive in manufacturing environments due to the complex, dynamic nature of manufacturing problems. The ability to adapt organizational roles to various problem-solving situations during system operation is a critical issue addressed by research on Sensible Agents that are capable of Dynamic Adaptive Autonomy (DAA). DAA allows Sensible Agents to change autonomy levels during system operation to meet the needs of a particular problem-solving situation. The representation of these flexible problem-solving frameworks is facilitated by the Intended Goals Structure (IGS), which represents goals that agents intend to achieve. In addition, a Perspective Model, based on Extended State Charts (ESC), is used to model domain environments. This paper provides an overview of the Sensible Agent testbed, which is implemented in a CORBA -based distributed computing environment. An example scenario demonstrates how this testbed can be used to simulate agent-based problem solving in manufacturing environments.

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