An operational semantics dedicated to the coordination of cooperating agents

This paper presents a contribution towards rigourous reasoning about coordinating agents. First, it defines formal models for coordination and coordinating agents. These models enable to specify the relations between the concepts of: plan, plan proposal and resource allocation, on the one hand, and concepts of: knowledge, belief and capability, on the other hand. Second, it provides a structured coordination language enabling to specify primitives, protocols and processes of coordination. This language is defined by a precise syntax, and it is formally interpreted using a transition system leading to an operational semantics for coordinating agents.

[1]  Tim Finin,et al.  KQML - A Language and Protocol for Knowledge and Information Exchange , 1994 .

[2]  Gordon D. Plotkin,et al.  A structural approach to operational semantics , 2004, J. Log. Algebraic Methods Program..

[3]  Mohamed Jmaiel,et al.  A Belief-Goal-Role Theory for Multiagent Systems , 2001, Int. J. Pattern Recognit. Artif. Intell..

[4]  Edmund H. Durfee,et al.  Using Partial Global Plans to Coordinate Distributed Problem Solvers , 1987, IJCAI.

[5]  Jan A. Bergstra,et al.  Process Algebra for Synchronous Communication , 1984, Inf. Control..

[6]  Somesh Jha,et al.  Multi-Agent Coordination through Coalition Formation , 1997, ATAL.

[7]  Catholijn M. Jonker,et al.  Compositional Verification of Multi-Agent Systems in Temporal Multi-Epistemic Logic , 1998, ATAL.

[8]  Jihoon Yang,et al.  Coordination of distributed knowledge networks using contract net protocol , 1998, 1998 IEEE Information Technology Conference, Information Environment for the Future (Cat. No.98EX228).

[9]  Michael Harpham.  December , 1855, The Hospital.

[10]  Catholijn M. Jonker,et al.  Compositional Verification of Multi-Agent Systems in Temporal Multi-Epistemic Logic , 1998, J. Log. Lang. Inf..

[11]  C. A. R. Hoare,et al.  Communicating sequential processes , 1978, CACM.

[12]  Mark S. Fox,et al.  COOL: A Language for Describing Coordination in Multi Agent Systems , 1995, ICMAS.

[13]  Yoav Shoham.  Agent-Oriented Programming , 1993, Artif. Intell..

[14]  Nicholas R. Jennings,et al.  Coordination in software agent systems , 1996 .

[15]  Keith S. Decker,et al.  Distributed problem-solving techniques: A survey , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[16]  Victor Lesser,et al.  Communication in the Service of Coordination , 1994 .