Agent Oriented Programming
17 Dec 1992-pp 123-129
TL;DR: This paper describes features of the agent oriented programming framework in a little more detail, and summarizes recent results and ongoing AOP-related work.
Abstract: Shoham, Y., Agent-oriented programming, Artificial Intelligence 60 (1993) 51-92. A new computational framework is presented, called agent-oriented programming (AOP), which can be viewed as a specialization of object-oriented programming. The state of an agent consists of components such as beliefs, decisions, capabilities, and obligations; for this reason the state of an agent is called its mental state. The mental state of agents is described formally in an extension of standard epistemic logics: beside temporalizing the knowledge and belief operators, AOP introduces operators for obligation, decision, and capability. Agents are controlled by agent programs, which include primitives for communicating with other agents. In the spirit of speech act theory, each communication primitive is of a certain type: informing, requesting, offering, and so on. This article presents the concept of AOP, discusses the concept of mental state and its formal underpinning, defines a class of agent interpreters, and then describes in detail a specific interpreter that has been implemented.
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TL;DR: Agent theory is concerned with the question of what an agent is, and the use of mathematical formalisms for representing and reasoning about the properties of agents as discussed by the authors ; agent architectures can be thought of as software engineering models of agents; and agent languages are software systems for programming and experimenting with agents.
Abstract: The concept of an agent has become important in both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and mainstream computer science. Our aim in this paper is to point the reader at what we perceive to be the most important theoretical and practical issues associated with the design and construction of intelligent agents. For convenience, we divide these issues into three areas (though as the reader will see, the divisions are at times somewhat arbitrary). Agent theory is concerned with the question of what an agent is, and the use of mathematical formalisms for representing and reasoning about the properties of agents. Agent architectures can be thought of as software engineering models of agents;researchers in this area are primarily concerned with the problem of designing software or hardware systems that will satisfy the properties specified by agent theorists. Finally, agent languages are software systems for programming and experimenting with agents; these languages may embody principles proposed by theorists. The paper is not intended to serve as a tutorial introduction to all the issues mentioned; we hope instead simply to identify the most important issues, and point to work that elaborates on them. The article includes a short review of current and potential applications of agent technology.
6,714 citations
TL;DR: This survey characterizes an emerging research area, sometimes called coordination theory, that focuses on the interdisciplinary study of coordination, that uses and extends ideas about coordination from disciplines such as computer science, organization theory, operations research, economics, linguistics, and psychology.
Abstract: This survey characterizes an emerging research area, sometimes called coordination theory, that focuses on the interdisciplinary study of coordination. Research in this area uses and extends ideas about coordination from disciplines such as computer science, organization theory, operations research, economics, linguistics, and psychology.A key insight of the framework presented here is that coordination can be seen as the process of managing dependencies among activities. Further progress, therefore, should be possible by characterizing different kinds of dependencies and identifying the coordination processes that can be used to manage them. A variety of processes are analyzed from this perspective, and commonalities across disciplines are identified. Processes analyzed include those for managing shared resources, producer/consumer relationships, simultaneity constraints, and task/subtask dependencies.Section 3 summarizes ways of applying a coordination perspective in three different domains:(1) understanding the effects of information technology on human organizations and markets, (2) designing cooperative work tools, and (3) designing distributed and parallel computer systems. In the final section, elements of a research agenda in this new area are briefly outlined.
3,447 citations
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: This paper explores a particular type of rational agent, a BeliefDesire-Intention (BDI) agent, and integrates the theoretical foundations of BDI agents from both a quantitative decision-theoretic perspective and a symbolic reasoning perspective.
Abstract: The study of computational agents capable of rational behaviour has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Theoretical formalizations of such agents and their implementations have proceeded in parallel with little or no connection between them. Tkis paper explores a particular type of rational agent, a BeliefDesire-Intention (BDI) agent. The primary aim of this paper is to integrate (a) the theoretical foundations of BDI agents from both a quantitative decision-theoretic perspective and a symbolic reasoning perspective; (b) the implementations of BDI agents from an ideal theoretical perspective and a more practical perspective; and (c) the building of large-scale applications based on BDI agents. In particular, an air-trafflc management application will be described from both a theoretical and an implementation perspective.
3,050 citations
Book•
01 Nov 2001
TL;DR: A multi-agent system (MAS) as discussed by the authors is a distributed computing system with autonomous interacting intelligent agents that coordinate their actions so as to achieve its goal(s) jointly or competitively.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
An agent is an entity with domain knowledge, goals and actions. Multi-agent systems are a set of agents which
interact in a common environment. Multi-agent systems deal with the construction of complex systems involving multiple agents and their coordination. A multi-agent system (MAS) is a distributed computing system with
autonomous interacting intelligent agents that coordinate their actions so as to achieve its goal(s) jointly or competitively.
3,003 citations
[...]
TL;DR: In this approach to software development, application programs are written as software agents, i.e. software “components” that communicate with their peers by exchanging messages in an expressive agent communication language.
Abstract: The software world is one of great richness and diversity. Many thousands of software products are available to users today, providing a wide variety of information and services in a wide variety of domains. While most of these programs provide their users with significant value when used in isolation, there is increasing demand for programs that can interoperate – to exchange information and services with other programs and thereby solve problems that cannot be solved alone. Part of what makes interoperation difficult is heterogeneity. Programs are written by different people, at different times, in different languages; and, as a result, they often provide different interfaces. The difficulties created by heterogeneity are exacerbated by dynamics in the software environment. Programs are frequently rewritten; new programs are added; old programs removed. Agent-based software engineering was invented to facilitate the creation of software able to interoperate in such settings. In this approach to software development, application programs are written as software agents, i.e. software “components” that communicate with their peers by exchanging messages in an expressive agent communication language. Agents can be as simple as subroutines; but typically they are larger entities with some sort of persistent control (e.g. distinct control threads within a single address space, distinct processes on a single machine, or separate processes on different machines). The salient feature of the language used by agents is its expressiveness. It allows for the exchange of data and logical information, individual commands and scripts (i.e. programs). Using this language, agents can communicate complex information and goals, directly or indirectly “programming” each other in useful ways. Agent-based software engineering is often compared to object-oriented programming. Like an “object”, an agent provides a message-based interface independent of its internal data structures and algorithms. The primary difference between the two approaches lies in the language of the interface. In general object-oriented programming, the meaning of a message can vary from one object to another. In agent-based software engineering, agents use a common language with an agent-independent semantics. The concept of agent-based software engineering raises a number of important questions.
2,373 citations
References
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01 Jan 1962
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a series of lectures with the following topics: Lecture I * Lecture II* Lecture III * Lectures IV* Lectures V * LectURE VI * LectURES VI * LII * LIII * LIV * LVI * LIX
Abstract: * Lecture I * Lecture II * Lecture III * Lecture IV * Lecture V * Lecture VI * Lecture VII * Lecture VIII * Lecture IX * Lecture X * Lecture XI * Lecture XII
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01 Jun 1991
TL;DR: A new architecture for controlling mobile robots is described, building a robust and flexible robot control system that has been used to control a mobile robot wandering around unconstrained laboratory areas and computer machine rooms.
Abstract: A new architecture for controlling mobile robots is described. Layers of control system are built to let the robot operate at increasing levels of competence. Layers are made up of asynchronous modules that communicate over low-bandwidth channels. Each module is an instance of a fairly simple computational machine. Higher-level layers can subsume the roles of lower levels by suppressing their outputs. However, lower levels continue to function as higher levels are added. The result is a robust and flexible robot control system. The system has been used to control a mobile robot wandering around unconstrained laboratory areas and computer machine rooms. Eventually it is intended to control a robot that wanders the office areas of our laboratory, building maps of its surroundings using an onboard arm to perform simple tasks.
7,759 citations
01 Mar 1986
TL;DR: In this paper, a new architecture for controlling mobile robots is described, which is made up of asynchronous modules that communicate over low-bandwidth channels, each module is an instance of a fairly simple computational machine.
Abstract: A new architecture for controlling mobile robots is described. Layers of control system are built to let the robot operate at increasing levels of competence. Layers are made up of asynchronous modules that communicate over low-bandwidth channels. Each module is an instance of a fairly simple computational machine. Higher-level layers can subsume the roles of lower levels by suppressing their outputs. However, lower levels continue to function as higher levels are added. The result is a robust and flexible robot control system. The system has been used to control a mobile robot wandering around unconstrained laboratory areas and computer machine rooms. Eventually it is intended to control a robot that wanders the office areas of our laboratory, building maps of its surroundings using an onboard arm to perform simple tasks.
7,291 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1969
TL;DR: A theory of speech acts is proposed in this article. But it is not a theory of language, it is a theory about the structure of illocutionary speech acts and not of language.
Abstract: Part I. A Theory of Speech Acts: 1. Methods and scope 2. Expressions, meaning and speech acts 3. The structure of illocutionary acts 4. Reference as a speech act 5. Predication Part II. Some Applications of the Theory: 6. Three fallacies in contemporary philosophy 7. Problems of reference 8. Deriving 'ought' from 'is' Index.
6,839 citations
TL;DR: A theory of speech acts is proposed in this paper. But it is not a theory of language, it is a theory about the structure of illocutionary speech acts and not of language.
Abstract: Part I. A Theory of Speech Acts: 1. Methods and scope 2. Expressions, meaning and speech acts 3. The structure of illocutionary acts 4. Reference as a speech act 5. Predication Part II. Some Applications of the Theory: 6. Three fallacies in contemporary philosophy 7. Problems of reference 8. Deriving 'ought' from 'is' Index.
6,645 citations