Structured Engineering Process for Agent Communication Modelling
Abstract
Intelligent multi-agent systems offer a new architectural style for distributed
and knowledge-intensive applications. Now that agent systems are applied
on a wider industrial scale, there is a practical need for structured conceptual
modelling methods, similar to what is in use for conventional large-scale
information and knowledge systems. Such knowledge-level methods are still
inadequate for intelligent agent software, especially at the overall system
level, i.e., the agent society. Therefore, we present a structured society-level
process of agent communication modelling. It forms an integrated extension
of the CommonKADS methodol-ogy, a widely used standard for knowledge management,
analysis and systems development, and acts as a complement on top of existing
agent communication languages. Our approach is illustrated by a large-scale
multi-agent application for distributed energy management in industries
and households, called HOMEBOTS, which is discussed as an extensive industrial
case study.
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