Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
skip to main content
article

Artifacts in the A&A meta-model for multi-agent systems

Published: 01 December 2008 Publication History

Abstract

In this article we focus on the notion of artifact for agents in multi-agent systems (MAS) as a basis for a new meta-model promoting the modelling and engineering of agent societies and MAS environment as first-class entities. Its conceptual foundations lay upon theories and results coming from computational sciences as well as from organisational and cognitive sciences, psychology, computer supported cooperative work (CSCW), anthropology and ethology. In the resulting agents & artifacts (A&A) meta-model, agents are the (pro-)active entities in charge of the goals/tasks that altogether build up the whole MAS behaviour, whereas artifacts are the reactive entities providing the services and functions that make individual agents work together in a MAS, and that shape agent environment according to the MAS needs. After presenting the scientific background, we define the notions of artifact in the A&A meta-model, discuss how it affects the notion of intelligence in MAS, and show its application to a number of agent-related research fields.

References

[1]
Acay, L. D., Pasquier, P., & Sonenberg, L. (2007) Extrospection: Agents reasoning about the environment. In 3rd IET international conference on intelligent environments (IE 07) (pp. 220-227).
[2]
Arbab, F. (2004). Reo: A channel-based coordination model for component composition. Mathematical Structures in Computer Science, 14(3), 329-366.
[3]
Bardram, J. (1998). Designing for the dynamics of cooperative work activities. In 1998 ACM conference on computer supported cooperative work (CSCW'98) (pp. 89-98). ACM Press.
[4]
Bernon, C., Camps, V., Gleizes, M.-P., & Picard, G. (2005a). Engineering adaptive multi-agent systems: The ADELFE methodology. In B. Henderson-Sellers & P. Giorgini (Eds.), Agent oriented methodologies (pp. 172-202). Hershey, PA, USA: Idea Group Publishing, Chapt. VII.
[5]
Bernon, C., Cossentino, M., & Pavón, J. (2005b). An overview of current trends in european AOSE research. In (Omicini et al., 2005) (pp. 379-390).
[6]
Bonabeau, E., Dorigo, M., & Theraulaz, G. (1999). Swarm intelligence: From natural to artificial systems. Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press.
[7]
Bordini, R. H., Braubach, L., Dastani, M., Seghrouchni, A. E. F., Gomez-Sanz, J., Leite, J. A., O'Hare, G., Pokahr, A., & Ricci, A. (2006). A survey of programming languages and platforms for multi-agent systems. In (Omicini et al. 2006a) (pp. 33-44).
[8]
Bordini, R. H., & Hübner, J. F. (2006). BDI agent programming in agentspeak using Jason (Tutorial Paper). In F. Toni & P. Torroni (Eds.), Computational logic in multi-agent systems, Vol. 3900 of Lecture notes in computer science (pp. 143-164). Springer, 6th International Workshop, CLIMA VI, London, UK, June 27-29, 2005, Revised Selected and Invited Papers.
[9]
Camazine, S., Deneubourg, J.-L., Franks, N. R., Sneyd, J., Theraulaz, G., & Bonabeau, E. (2001). Self-organization in biological systems, Princeton studies in complexity. Princeton, NJ, USA: Princeton University Press.
[10]
Conte, R., & Castelfranchi, C. (Eds.), (1995). Cognitive and social action. University College London.
[11]
Copi, I. M., & Cohen, C. (1994). Introduction to logic (9th ed.) New York: Macmillan.
[12]
Cossentino, M., Fortino, G., & Russo, W. (2008). Special issue on multi-agent systems and simulation. International Journal of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering, 2(2).
[13]
Dastani, M., Arbab, F., & de Boer, F. S. (2005). Coordination and composition in multi-agent systems. In F. Dignum, V. Dignum, S. Koenig, S. Kraus, M. P. Singh, & M. J. Wooldridge (Eds.), 4th International joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems (AAMAS 2005) (pp. 439-446). Utrecht, The Netherlands: ACM.
[14]
Dastani, M., Hobo, D., & Meyer, J.-J. C. (2007). Practical extensions in agent programming languages. In E. Durfee, M. Yokoo, M. N. Huhns, & O. Shehory (Eds.), 6th International joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems (AAMAS'07) (pp. 923-925). Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA: ACM Press.
[15]
Di Marzo Serugendo, G., Gleizes, M.-P., & Karageorgos, A. (2006). Self-organisation and emergence in MAS: An overview. In (Omicini et al. 2006a) (pp. 45-54).
[16]
Drogoul, A., Vanbergue, D., & Meurisse, T. (2003). Multi-agent based simulation: Where are the agents?. In J. S. Sichman, F. Bousquet, & P. Davidsson (Eds.), Multi-agent-based simulation II, Vol. 2581 of LNCS (pp. 43-49). Springer, 3rd International Workshop (MABS 2002), Bologna, Italy, 15-16 July 2002. Revised Papers.
[17]
Engeström, Y., Brown, K., Christopher, L. C., & Gregory, J. (1997). Coordination, cooperation & communication in the courts: Expansive transitions in legal Work. In M. Cole, Y. Engeström, & O. Vasquez (Eds.), Mind, culture, and activity. Cambridge University Press, Chapt. 28.
[18]
Franklin, S., & Graesser, A. (1996). Is it an agent, or just a program?: A taxonomy for autonomous agents. In J. P. Müller, M. J. Wooldridge, & N. R. Jennings (Eds.), Intelligent agents III. Agent theories, architectures, and languages, Vol. 1193 of LNCS (pp. 21-35). Springer,. ECAI'96 Workshop (ATAL'96) Budapest, Hungary, 12-13 Aug. 1996. Proceedings.
[19]
Gardelli, L., Viroli, M., Casadei, M., & Omicini, A. (2008). Designing self-organising environments with agents and artifacts: A simulation-driven approach. In (Cassentino et al. 2008) (pp. 171-195).
[20]
Gibson, K. R., & Ingold, T. (Eds.), (1993). Tools, language & cognition in human evolution. Cambridge University Press.
[21]
Grassé, P.-P. (1959). La reconstruction du nid et les coordinations interindividuelles chez Bellicositermes natalensis et Cubitermes sp. la théorie de la stigmergie: Essai d'interprétation du comportement des termites constructeurs. Insectes Sociaux, 6(1), 41-80.
[22]
Hewes, G. W. (1993). A history of speculation on the relation between tools and languages. In (Gibson and Ingold, 1993) (pp. 20-31).
[23]
Kauffman, S. A. (2001). Investigations. Oxford University Press.
[24]
Kirsh, D. (1999). Distributed cognition, coordination and environment design. In European Conference on Cognitive Science (pp. 1-11).
[25]
Mamei, M., & Zambonelli, F. (2005). Programming stigmergic coordination with the TOTA middleware. In 4th International joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems (AAMAS'05) (pp. 415-422) New York, NY, USA: ACM Press.
[26]
Martelet, G. (1998). Évolution et création, tome 1. Paris: Editions du Cerf.
[27]
Molesini, A., Omicini, A., Denti, E., & Ricci, A. (2006). SODA: A roadmap to artefacts. In O. Dikenelli, M.-P. Gleizes, & A. Ricci (Eds.), Engineering societies in the agents world VI, Vol. 3963 of LNAI (pp. 49-62). Springer, 6th International Workshop (ESAW2005), Kusadasi, Aydin, Turkey, 26-28 Oct. 2005. Revised, Selected & Invited Papers.
[28]
Molesini, A., Omicini, A., & Viroli, M. (2008). Environment in agent-oriented software engineering methodologies. Multiagent and Grid Systems, 4. Special Issue on Environment Engineering for MAS.
[29]
Montagna, S., Ricci, A., & Omicini, A. (2008). A&A for modelling and engineering simulations in systems biology. In (Cossentino et al. 2008) (pp. 222-245).
[30]
Nardi, B. A. (Ed.), (1996). Context and consciousness: Activity theory and human-computer interaction. MIT Press.
[31]
Nardini, E., Omicini, A., & Matteucci, M. C. (2008). Toward a framework for collaborative learning based on agent-based technologies. In International education, technology and development conference (INTED 2008). Valencia, Spain, EU: IATED.
[32]
Noriega, P., & Sierra, C. (2002). Electronic institutions: Future trends and challenges. In M. Klusch, S. Ossowski, & O. Shehory (Eds.), Cooperative information agents VI, Vol. 2446 of LNAI. Springer.
[33]
Norman, D. A. (1991). Cognitive artifacts. In J. M. Carroll (Ed.), Designing interaction: Psychology at the human-computer interface, Cambridge Series On Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 17-38). New York: Cambridge University Press.
[34]
Odell, J. J. (2002). Objects and agents compared. Journal of Object Technology, 1(1), 41-53.
[35]
Oliva, E., McBurney, P., & Omicini, A. (2007). Co-argumentation artifact for agent societies. In S. Parsons, I. Rahwan, & C. Reed (Eds.), 4th International workshop argumentation in multi-agent systems (ArgMAS 2007) (pp. 115-130) Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA: AAMAS 2007.
[36]
Omicini, A. (2001). SODA: Societies and infrastructures in the analysis and design of agent-based systems. In P. Ciancarini & M. J. Wooldridge (Eds.), Agent-oriented software engineering, Vol. 1957 of LNCS (pp. 311-326). Springer-Verlag, 1st International Workshop (AOSE 2000), Limerick, Ireland, 10 June 2000. Revised Papers.
[37]
Omicini A. (2007). Formal ReSpecT in the A&A perspective. Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Sciences, 175(2), 97-117. 5th International Workshop on Foundations of Coordination Languages and Software Architectures (FOCLASA'06), CONCUR'06, Bonn, Germany, 31 Aug. 2006. Post-proceedings.
[38]
Omicini, A., & Denti, E. (2001). From tuple spaces to tuple centres. Science of Computer Programming, 41(3), 277-294.
[39]
Omicini, A., & Ossowski, S. (2003). Objective versus subjective coordination in the engineering of agent systems. In M. Klusch, F. Bergamaschi, S., Edwards, P. & P. Petta (Eds.), Intelligent information agents: An agentlink perspective, Vol. 2586 of LNAI: State-of-the-Art Survey (pp. 179-202). Springer-Verlag.
[40]
Omicini, A., Petta, P., & Gams, M. (2005). Special issue: Hot topics in European agent research I. In formatica, 29(4), 377-443.
[41]
Omicini, A., Petta, P., & Gams, M. (2006a). Special issue: Hot topics in European agent research II. Informatica, 30(1), 1-82.
[42]
Omicini, A., Ricci, A., & Viroli, M. (2006b). Agens faber: Toward a theory of artefacts for MAS. Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Sciences, 150(3), 21-36. 1st International Workshop "Coordination and Organization" (CoOrg 2005), COORDINATION 2005, Namur, Belgium, 22 Apr, 2005. Proceedings.
[43]
Omicini, A., Ricci, A., & Viroli, M. (2006c). Coordination artifacts as first-class abstractions for MAS engineering: State of the research. In A. F. Garcia, R. Choren, C. Lucena, P. Giorgini, P., T. Holvoet, & A. Romanovsky (Eds.), Software engineering for multi-agent systems IV: Research issues and practical applications, Vol. 3914 of LNAI (pp. 71-90). Springer, Invited Paper.
[44]
Omicini, A., Ricci, A., Viroli, M., Castelfranchi, C., & Tummolini, L. (2004). Coordination artifacts: Environment-based coordination for intelligent agents. In N. R. Jennings, C. Sierra, L. Sonenberg, L. & M. Tambe (Eds.), 3rd international joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems (AAMAS 2004) (Vol. 1 pp. 286-293). New York, USA: ACM.
[45]
Papadopoulos, G. A., & Arbab, F. (1998). Coordination models and languages. In M. V. Zelkowitz (Ed.), The engineering of large systems, Vol. 46 of Advances in computers (pp. 329-400). Academic Press.
[46]
Parunak, H. V. D., Brueckner, S., & Sauter, J. (2002). Digital pheromone mechanisms for coordination of unmanned vehicles. In 1st International joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems AAMAS'02 (pp. 449-450). ACM Press.
[47]
Povinelli, D. J. (2000). Folk physics for Apes: The chimpanzee's theory of how the world works. Oxford University Press.
[48]
Ricci, A., Buda, C., & Zaghini, N. (2007a). An Agent-oriented programming model for SOA & web services. In D. Dietrich, G. Hancke, & P. Palensky (Eds.), 5th IEEE international conference on industrial informatics (INDIN'07) (pp. 1059-1064). Vienna, Austria, IEEE. Special Session on Agents Theory and Practice for Industry.
[49]
Ricci, A., Omicini, A., & Denti, E. (2003). Activity theory as a framework for MAS coordination. In P. Petta, R. Tolksdorf, & F. Zambonelli (Eds.), Engineering societies in the agents world III, Vol. 2577 of LNCS (pp. 96-110). Springer-Verlag, 3rd International Workshop (ESAW 2002), Madrid, Spain, 16-17 Sept. 2002. Revised Papers.
[50]
Ricci, A., Omicini, A., Viroli, M., Gardelli, L., & Oliva, E. (2007). Cognitive stigmergy: Towards a framework based on agents and artifacts. In D.Weyns, H. V. D. Parunak, & F. Michel (Eds.), Environments for multiagent systems III, Vol. 4389 of LNAI (pp. 124-140). Springer, 3rd International Workshop (E4MAS 2006), Hakodate, Japan, 8 May 2006. Selected Revised and Invited Papers.
[51]
Ricci, A., Piunti, M., Acay, L. D., Bordini, R., Hübner, J., & Dastani, M. (2008a). Integrating artifact-based environments with heterogeneous agent-programming platforms. In 7th International joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems (AAMAS-08).
[52]
Ricci, A., & Viroli, M. (2005). Coordination artifacts: A unifying abstraction for engineering environment-mediated coordination in MAS. In (Omicini et al. 2005) (pp. 433-443).
[53]
Ricci, A., & Viroli, M. (2007). simpA: An agent-oriented approach for prototyping concurrent applications on top of java. In V. Amaral (Ed.), 5th International symposium on principles and practice of programming in Java (PPPJ 2007), Vol. 272 of ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (pp. 185-194). Lisboa, Portugal, ACM.
[54]
Ricci, A., Viroli, M., & Omicini, A. (2006). Programming MAS with artifacts. In R. P. Bordini, M. Dastani, J. Dix, & A. El Fallah Seghrouchni (Eds.), Programming multi-agent systems, Vol. 3862 of LNAI (pp. 206-221). Springer, 3rd International Workshop (PROMAS 2005), AAMAS 2005, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 26 July 2005. Revised and Invited Papers.
[55]
Ricci, A., Viroli, M., & Omicini, A. (2007). CArtAgO: A framework for prototyping artifact-based environments in MAS. In D. Weyns, H. V. D. Parunak, & F. Michel (Eds.), Environments for multiagent systems III, Vol. 4389 of LNAI (pp. 67-86). Springer, 3rd International workshop (E4MAS 2006), Hakodate, Japan, 8 May 2006. Selected Revised and Invited Papers.
[56]
Ricci, A., Viroli, M., & Omicini, A. (2008). The A&A programming model & technology for developing agent environments in MAS. In M. Dastani, A. El Fallah Seghrouchni, A. Ricci, & M. Winikoff (Eds.), Programming multi-agent systems, Vol. 4908 of LNAI. Springer. 5th International Workshop (PROMAS 2007), AAMAS 2007, Honolulu, Hawaii, 15 May 2007. Revised and Invited Papers.
[57]
Rubino, R., Molesini, A., & Denti, E. (2006). OWL-S for describing artifacts. In A. Omicini, B. Dunin-Keplicz, & J. A. Padget (Eds.), 4th European workshop on multi-agent systems (EUMAS 2006). Sun SITE Central Europe, RWTH Aachen University. Fourth European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems Lisbon, Portugal.
[58]
Rubino, R., Omicini, A., & Denti, E. (2006). Computational institutions for modelling norm-regulated MAS: An approach based on coordination artifacts. In O. Boissier, J. Padget, V. Dignum, G. Lindemann, E. Matson, S. Ossowski, J. S. Sichman, & J. Vázquez-Salceda (Eds.), Coordination, organizations, institutions, and norms in multi-agent systems, Vol. 3913 of LNAI (pp. 127-141). Springer, AAMAS 2005 International Workshops "Agents, Norms and Institutions for Regulated Multi-Agent Systems" (ANI@REM 2005) & "Organizations in Multi-Agent Systems" (OOOPS 2005), Utrecht, The Netherlands, 25-26 July 2005. Revised Selected Papers.
[59]
Schmidt, K., & Simone, C. (2000). Mind the gap! Towards a unified view of CSCW. In R. Dieng, A. Giboin, L. Karsenty, & G. De Michelis (Eds.), Designing cooperative systems: The use of theories and models, Vol. 58 of Frontiers in artificial intelligence and applications. Sophia Antipolis, France, IOS Press. 4th International conference on the design of cooperative systems (COOP 2000), Proceedings.
[60]
Schumacher, M. (2001). Objective coordination in multi-agent system engineering--design and implementation , Vol. 2039 of LNAI. Springer-Verlag.
[61]
Searle, J. (1969). Speech acts: An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge University Press.
[62]
Siracuse, S., Zinky, J. A., Shapiro, R., & Wright, T. (2005). Scalable MAS-based control systems using QoS-adaptive coordination artifacts. In R.Mailler, P. Scerri, & R. Vincent (Eds.), 2nd Workshop on challenges in the coordination of large-scale multi-agent systems (LSMAS'05). Utrecht Netherlands: AAMAS (2005).
[63]
Susi, T., & Ziemke, T. (2001). Social cognition, artefacts, and stigmergy: A comparative analysis of theoretical frameworks for the understanding of artefact-mediated collaborative activity. Cognitive Systems Research, 2(4), 273-290.
[64]
Valckenears, P., Van Brussel, H., Kollingbaum, M., & Bochmann, O. (2001). Multi-agent coordination and control using stigmergy applied to manufacturing control. In M. Luck, V. Ma¿ík, O. ¿tepánková, & R. Trappl (Eds.), Multi-agent systems and applications, Vol. 2086 of Lecture notes in computer science (pp. 317-334). Springer, 9th ECCAI Advanced Course ACAI 2001 and Agent Link's 3rd European Agent Systems Summer School (EASSS 2001), Prague, Czech Republic, 2-13 July 2001, Selected Tutorial Papers.
[65]
Viroli, M., Holvoet, T., Ricci, A., Schelfthout, K., & Zambonelli, F. (2007). Infrastructures for the environment of multiagent systems. In (Weyns and Parunak, 2007) (pp. 49-60).
[66]
Viroli, M., Ricci, A., & Omicini, A. (2006). Operating instructions for intelligent agent coordination. The Knowledge Engineering Review, 21(1), 49-69.
[67]
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society. Harvard University Press.
[68]
Weyns, D., Omicini, A., & Odell, J. (2007). Environment as a first-class abstraction inmulti-agent systems. In (Weyns and Parunak, 2007) (pp. 5-30).
[69]
Weyns, D., & Parunak, H. V. D. (2007). Special issue on environments for multi-agent systems. Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 14(1), 1-116.
[70]
Wood, A. B., Horton, T. E., & Amant, R. S. (2005). Effective tool use in a habile agent. In E. J. Bass (Ed.), 2005 IEEE Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SEADS 2005) (pp. 75-81). Charlottesville, VA, USA: IEEE.
[71]
Zalta, E. N. (Ed.) (2003). Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, Chapt. Aristotle's Metaphysics. Stanford University.
[72]
Zambonelli, F., Jennings, N. R., & Wooldridge, M. (2003). Developing multiagent systems: The Gaia methodology. ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM), 12(3), 317-370.
[73]
Zinky, J., Shapiro, R., Siracuse, S., & Wright, T. (2005). Implementing QoS-adaptation in coordination artifacts by enhancing cougaar multi-agent middleware. In S. Barber, M. Kam, V. Subrahmanian, & B. Regli (Eds.), 2nd IEEE symposium on multi-agent security and survivability (MASS 2005) (pp. 39-48). Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Cited By

View all
  • (2024)Concurrency Model of BDI Programming Frameworks: Why Should We Control It?Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems10.5555/3635637.3663089(2147-2149)Online publication date: 6-May-2024
  • (2024)Enabling Adaptation in Dynamic Manufacturing Environments with Decentralized Agent-Based Systems and Local PerceptionProceedings of the 39th ACM/SIGAPP Symposium on Applied Computing10.1145/3605098.3635967(235-242)Online publication date: 8-Apr-2024
  • (2024)Blending BDI Agents with Object-Oriented and Functional Programming with JaKtASN Computer Science10.1007/s42979-024-03244-y5:8Online publication date: 30-Oct-2024
  • Show More Cited By

Recommendations

Comments

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems
Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems  Volume 17, Issue 3
December 2008
109 pages

Publisher

Kluwer Academic Publishers

United States

Publication History

Published: 01 December 2008

Author Tags

  1. A&A meta-model
  2. Activity theory
  3. Agent intelligence
  4. Agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE)
  5. Artifact
  6. Coordination
  7. Distributed cognition
  8. MAS environment
  9. MAS infrastructure

Qualifiers

  • Article

Contributors

Other Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

  • Downloads (Last 12 months)0
  • Downloads (Last 6 weeks)0
Reflects downloads up to 08 Feb 2025

Other Metrics

Citations

Cited By

View all
  • (2024)Concurrency Model of BDI Programming Frameworks: Why Should We Control It?Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems10.5555/3635637.3663089(2147-2149)Online publication date: 6-May-2024
  • (2024)Enabling Adaptation in Dynamic Manufacturing Environments with Decentralized Agent-Based Systems and Local PerceptionProceedings of the 39th ACM/SIGAPP Symposium on Applied Computing10.1145/3605098.3635967(235-242)Online publication date: 8-Apr-2024
  • (2024)Blending BDI Agents with Object-Oriented and Functional Programming with JaKtASN Computer Science10.1007/s42979-024-03244-y5:8Online publication date: 30-Oct-2024
  • (2024)Agents and Digital Twins for the engineering of Cyber-Physical Systems: opportunities, and challengesAnnals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence10.1007/s10472-023-09884-992:4(953-974)Online publication date: 1-Aug-2024
  • (2024)On the External Concurrency of Current BDI Frameworks for MASEngineering Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-71152-7_3(42-63)Online publication date: 5-May-2024
  • (2024)Agents for DDD – Back and ForthEngineering Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-71152-7_11(175-188)Online publication date: 5-May-2024
  • (2023)Governing Agents on the WebCoordination, Organizations, Institutions, Norms, and Ethics for Governance of Multi-Agent Systems XVI10.1007/978-3-031-49133-7_4(55-73)Online publication date: 29-May-2023
  • (2023)Pody: A Solid-Based Approach to Embody Agents in Web-Based Multi-Agent-SystemsEngineering Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-48539-8_15(220-229)Online publication date: 29-May-2023
  • (2023)Towards Framing the Agents & Artifacts Conceptual Model at the Knowledge Level: First Ideas and ExperimentsEngineering Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-48539-8_14(208-219)Online publication date: 29-May-2023
  • (2023)Towards Developing Digital Twin Enabled Multi-Agent SystemsEngineering Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-48539-8_12(178-187)Online publication date: 29-May-2023
  • Show More Cited By

View Options

View options

Figures

Tables

Media

Share

Share

Share this Publication link

Share on social media