A Model of Multi-agent System Based on Policies and Contracts

Due to the dynamic nature of virtual organizations (VOs), it is necessary that the multi-agent system for VO formation and cooperation should be aware of the mutable business requirements or user's preferences within VO environments and integrate these dynamic business requirements into its decision making process. We present a model of multi-agent system based on policies and contracts, in which the requirements for both the system and the individual agents can be defined dynamically by means of policies. On the one hand, at the system level, the duties and rights of roles can be specified or modified in terms of policies presented by the VO administrators. And on the other hand, role enacting agents are guided by policies defined by their owners. The policy and contract extended agent model (BGIPDC) is the core of the system, which is formally specified in this paper.

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