A flexible framework for verifying agent programs

There is an increasing number of agent-oriented programming languages that have working interpreters and platforms, with significant progress in the quality of such platforms over the last few years. With these platforms becoming more popular, and multi-agent systems being increasingly used for safety-critical applications, the need for verification techniques that apply to systems written in such languages is proportionally intensified. Building on our previous work on model checking for a particular agent-oriented programming language, we have developed a new approach whereby model checking techniques can be used directly on a variety of such languages. The approach also supports the verification of multi-agent systems where individual agents have been programmed in different agent languages.

[1]  Wojciech Penczek,et al.  Verification of multiagent systems via unbounded model checking , 2004, Proceedings of the Third International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, 2004. AAMAS 2004..

[2]  Alessio Lomuscio,et al.  Automatic verification of multi-agent systems by model checking via ordered binary decision diagrams , 2007, J. Appl. Log..

[3]  Michael Fisher,et al.  Temporal Development Methods for Agent-Based , 2004, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems.

[4]  Klaus Havelund,et al.  Model checking programs , 2000, Proceedings ASE 2000. Fifteenth IEEE International Conference on Automated Software Engineering.

[5]  Michael Fisher,et al.  Temporal Development Methods for Agent-Based Systems , 2005 .

[6]  Michael Wooldridge,et al.  Model Checking for Multiagent Systems: the Mable Language and its Applications , 2006, Int. J. Artif. Intell. Tools.

[7]  Matthew B. Dwyer,et al.  Bogor: an extensible and highly-modular software model checking framework , 2003, ESEC/FSE-11.

[8]  Michael Wooldridge,et al.  State-space reduction techniques in agent verification , 2004, Proceedings of the Third International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, 2004. AAMAS 2004..

[9]  Michael Wooldridge,et al.  Model checking rational agents , 2004, IEEE Intelligent Systems.

[10]  Stephan Merz,et al.  Model Checking , 2000 .

[11]  Rafael Heitor Bordini,et al.  Verifying Multi-agent Programs by Model Checking , 2006, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems.

[12]  Matthew B. Dwyer,et al.  Using the Bandera Tool Set to Model-Check Properties of Concurrent Java Software , 2001, CONCUR.

[13]  A. S. Roa,et al.  AgentSpeak(L): BDI agents speak out in a logical computable language , 1996 .

[14]  Michael Fisher,et al.  A Common Basis for Agent Organisation in BDI Languages , 2008, LADS.

[15]  Michael Wooldridge,et al.  A Common Semantic Basis for BDI Languages , 2007, PROMAS.

[16]  Shin Nakajima,et al.  The SPIN Model Checker : Primer and Reference Manual , 2004 .