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Model checking agentspeak

Published: 14 July 2003 Publication History

Abstract

This paper introduces ASF, a variation of the BDI logic programming language ASL intended to permit the model-theoretic verification of multi-agent systems. After briefly introducing ASF and discussing its relationship to ASL, we show how ASF programs can be transformed into Prm, the model specification language for the Spin model-checking system. We also describe how specifications written in a simplified form of BDI logic can be transformed into Spin-format linear temporal logic formulae. With our approach, it is thus possible to automatically verify whether or not multi-agent systems implemented in ASF satisfy specifications expressed as BDI logic formulæ. We illustrate our approach with a short case study, in which we show how BDI properties of a simulated auction system implemented in ASF were verified.

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Cited By

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  • (2024)Added Value of Probabilistic Model Checking of vGOAL for Autonomous SystemsPRIMA 2024: Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-77367-9_19(248-264)Online publication date: 15-Nov-2024
  • (2024)Enhancing Confidence of the vGOAL Interpreter Using SAT SolvingEngineering Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-71152-7_10(156-174)Online publication date: 16-Sep-2024
  • (2023)Verifiably Safe Decision-Making for Autonomous SystemsProceedings of the 2023 International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems10.5555/3545946.3599142(2973-2975)Online publication date: 30-May-2023
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Juan Carlos Augusto

Multiagent technology has many interesting potential applications, but it seems that the more interesting the application is to society, the more demands it puts on the technology in terms of correctness and reliability. These issues have not yet been deeply explored in the area of multiagent systems. From this perspective, this contribution is a very important step in that direction. The authors consider how to use a well-known tool for software verification, Spin, to verify a multiagent specification language, AgentSpeak(L). This specification language has to be fit into process metalanguage (PROMELA), the input language for Spin. Due to syntax and semantics mismatches between AgentSpeak(L) and PROMELA, the proposal provides verification for a subset of AgentSpeak(L), termed AgentSpeak(F). Further restrictions have to be made to accommodate the original specification and the fact that Spin only deals with finite-state systems. Channels are used for communication between agents. The main activities that are typical of the belief-desire-intention (BDI) paradigm in modeling multiagent systems, belief revision, checking interagent communication, event selection, and intention selection are considered atomic activities, so interleaving is focused on them. A mapping from BDI logic properties to linear temporal logic formulas, the language for property specification accepted by Spin, is provided. Exercises in this line of inquiry are very important, and many lessons can be learned about which particular functions a specification language can request from an already-existing verification technology. However, the ultimate goal would be to have tools that are more specifically equipped to deal efficiently with all the distinctive features of languages like AgentSpeak(L). Online Computing Reviews Service

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cover image ACM Conferences
AAMAS '03: Proceedings of the second international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems
July 2003
1200 pages
ISBN:1581136838
DOI:10.1145/860575
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Published: 14 July 2003

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Author Tags

  1. AgentSpeak
  2. BDI logic programming
  3. model checking
  4. spin

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Cited By

View all
  • (2024)Added Value of Probabilistic Model Checking of vGOAL for Autonomous SystemsPRIMA 2024: Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-77367-9_19(248-264)Online publication date: 15-Nov-2024
  • (2024)Enhancing Confidence of the vGOAL Interpreter Using SAT SolvingEngineering Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-71152-7_10(156-174)Online publication date: 16-Sep-2024
  • (2023)Verifiably Safe Decision-Making for Autonomous SystemsProceedings of the 2023 International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems10.5555/3545946.3599142(2973-2975)Online publication date: 30-May-2023
  • (2023)VEsNA, a Framework for Virtual Environments via Natural Language Agents and Its Application to Factory AutomationRobotics10.3390/robotics1202004612:2(46)Online publication date: 21-Mar-2023
  • (2023)Making model checking feasible for GOALAnnals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence10.1007/s10472-023-09898-392:4(837-853)Online publication date: 5-Oct-2023
  • (2023)vGOAL: A GOAL-Based Specification Language for Safe Autonomous Decision-MakingEngineering Multi-Agent Systems10.1007/978-3-031-48539-8_3(41-58)Online publication date: 26-Nov-2023
  • (2023)Safe Autonomous Decision-Making with vGOALAdvances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Cognitive Mimetics. The PAAMS Collection10.1007/978-3-031-37616-0_32(388-400)Online publication date: 12-Jul-2023
  • (2022)Generating Safe Autonomous Decision-Making in ROSElectronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science10.4204/EPTCS.371.13371(184-192)Online publication date: 27-Sep-2022
  • (2022)Towards VEsNA, a Framework for Managing Virtual Environments via Natural Language AgentsElectronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science10.4204/EPTCS.362.8362(65-80)Online publication date: 20-Jul-2022
  • (2022)Verifiable autonomy: From theory to applicationsAI Communications10.3233/AIC-22011535:4(421-431)Online publication date: 20-Sep-2022
  • Show More Cited By

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