Interoperability for mobile agents by incarnation agents

Many different kinds of mobile agent platforms have been developed. However, migration to a different type of mobile agent platform is actually impossible. As a solution to this problem, we propose an interoperability concept using incarnation agents. This concept realizes logical mobility between different kinds of agent platforms. The incarnation agent extracts an agent's procedures and status, compiles them into an agent platform-independent format, and then re-compiles them to the target agent platform format, thus enabling the process to continue. The incarnation agent also has autonomy for interoperability. It manages complex migration for interoperability so that the agent's procedures can be described in a simple mobile model. Moreover, the incarnation agent modifies the agent's procedures so that they are applicable to the facilities of the target agent platform. Feasibility experiments using interoperability middleware have been conducted as a basis for realizing incarnation agents.