Enhancing NetLogo to Simulate BDI Communicating Agents

The implementation process of complex agent and multi-agent systems (AMAS) can benefit significantly from a simulation platform that would allow rapid prototyping and testing of initial design ideas and choices. Such a platform, should ideally have a small learning curve, easy implementation and visualisation of the AMAS under development, while preserving agent oriented programming characteristics that would allow to easily port the design choices to a fully-fledged agent development environment. However, these requirements make such a simulation platform an ideal learning tool as well. We argue that NetLogo meets most of the requirements that suit our criteria. In addition, we describe two extra NetLogo libraries, one for BDI-like agents and one for ACL-like communication that allow effortless development of goal-oriented agents, that communicate using FIPA-ACL messages. We present one simulation scenario that employs these libraries to provide an implementation in which agents cooperate under a Contract Net protocol.

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