A methodology and modelling technique for systems of BDI agents

Abstract

The construction of large-scale embedded software systems demands the use of design methodologies and modelling techniques that support abstraction, inheritance, modularity, and other mechanisms for reducing complexity and preventing error. If multi-agent systems are to become widely accepted as a basis for large-scale applications, adequate agent-oriented methodologies and modelling techniques will be essential. This is not just to ensure that systems are reliable, maintainable, and conformant, but to allow their design, implementation, and maintenance to be carried out by software analysts and engineers rather than researchers. In this paper we describe an agent-oriented methodology and modelling technique for systems of agents based upon the Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) paradigm. Our models extend existing Object-Oriented (OO) models. By building upon and adapting existing, well-understood techniques, we take advantage of their maturity to produce an approach that can be easily learnt and understood by those familiar with the OO paradigm.

A Survey of Agent-Oriented Methodologies

“…Firstly, there are similarities between the object-oriented paradigm and the agentoriented paradigm [5,27]. Since the early times of distributed artificial intelligence (DAI), the close relationship between DAI and Object-Based Concurrent Programming (OBCP) [2,15] was established.…”

“…In this section the following agent-oriented methodologies are reviewed: Agent-Oriented Analysis and Design [5], Agent Modelling Technique for Systems of BDI agents [27], MASB [31,32] and Agent Oriented Methodology for Enterprise Modelling [24].…”

Representing Agent Interaction Protocols in UML

“…Our own report [23] emphasizes methodology, as does the work by Kinny and colleagues [15,16] on modeling techniques for BDI agents. The close parallel that we observe between design mechanisms for agents and for objects is shared by a number of authors, for example [5,6].…”

“…The UML model semantics are represented by a metamodel whose structure is also formally defined by OCL syntax. OCL and the metamodel offer resources to capture the kinds of logical specifications anticipated in (for example) [4,11,14,15,16,28], but space does not permit exploring this use of UML in this paper.…”

Panel Summary: Agent Development Tools

“…While there have been several methods proposed for analyzing, designing, and building multi-agent systems, most of these have come out of the academic community [1,2,5,6,8,9,13] and there has not been wide-spread industry support for any particular approach. Because agents provide a unique perspective on distributed, intelligent systems, our traditional ways of thinking about and designing software do not fit the multi-agent paradigm.…”