The Robotics Institute

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute

Katia Sycara, Joseph Andrew Giampapa, Brent K. Langley, and Massimo Paolucci
Software Engineering for Large-Scale Multi-Agent Systems: Research Issues and Practical Applications, Alessandro Garcia, Carlos Lucena, Franco Zambonelli, Andrea Omici, Jaelson Castro, ed., Springer-Verlag, 2003, pp. 232--250.

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Abstract

In this paper we identify challenges that confront the large-scale multi-agent system (LMAS) designer, and claim that these challenges can be successfully addressed by agent-based software engineering (ABSE), which we consider to be distinct from object-oriented software engineering for multi-agent systems (OOSE for MAS) in its consideration of agent "goal", "role", "context" and "attitude" as first class objects. We show how we have discovered these principles through our experiences in developing the RETSINA multi-agent system, in implementing specific test applications, and in the derivation of three distinct architectures that help guide and describe the designs of our systems: the "individual agent" architecture, the "functional" architecture, and the "infrastructure" architecture.

Keywords

multi-agent system, scalability, case study, agent, RETSINA, architecture

Notes

Sponsor: multiple sponsors

Grant ID: Berlin Heidelberg

Associated Center(s) / Consortia: Center for Integrated Manfacturing Decision Systems

Associated Lab(s) / Group(s): Advanced Agent - Robotics Technology Lab

Associated Project(s): Reusable Environment for Task Structured Intelligent Network Agents, Pleiades, Integrating Intelligent Assistants into Human Teams (Joccasta), AFOSR PRET: Information Fusion for Command and Control: The Translation of Raw Data To Actionable Knowledge and Decision, Adaptive Interoperability of Multiple Heterogeneous Agents, A-Match

Number of pages: 19

Text Reference

Katia Sycara, Joseph Andrew Giampapa, Brent K. Langley, and Massimo Paolucci, "The RETSINA MAS, a Case Study," Software Engineering for Large-Scale Multi-Agent Systems: Research Issues and Practical Applications, Alessandro Garcia, Carlos Lucena, Franco Zambonelli, Andrea Omici, Jaelson Castro, ed., Springer-Verlag, 2003, pp. 232--250.

BibTeX Reference

@incollection{Sycara_2003_4497,
   author = "Katia Sycara and Joseph Andrew Giampapa and Brent K Langley and Massimo Paolucci",
   editor = "Alessandro Garcia, Carlos Lucena, Franco Zambonelli, Andrea Omici, Jaelson Castro",
   title = "The RETSINA MAS, a Case Study",
   booktitle = "Software Engineering for Large-Scale Multi-Agent Systems: Research Issues and Practical Applications",
   pages = "232--250",
   publisher = "Springer-Verlag",
   address = "Berlin Heidelberg",
   month = "July",
   year = "2003",
   volume = "LNCS 2603",
}

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