Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Towards a Distributed, Environment-Centered Agent Framework

  • Conference paper
Intelligent Agents VI. Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages (ATAL 1999)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 1757))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

This paper will discuss the internal architecture for an agent framework called DECAF (Distributed Environment Centered Agent Framework). DECAF is a software toolkit for the rapid design, development, and execution of “intelligent” agents to achieve solutions in complex software systems. From a research community perspective, DECAF provides a modular platform for evaluating and disseminating results in agent architectures, including communication, planning, scheduling, execution monitoring, coordination, diagnosis, and learning. From a user/programmer perspective, DECAF distinguishes itself by removing the focus from the underlying components of agent building such as socket creation, message formatting, and agent communication. Instead, users may quickly prototype agent systems by focusing on the domain-specific parts of the problem via a graphical plan editor, reusable generic behaviors [9], and various supporting middle-agents [10]. This paper will briefly describe the key portions of the DECAF toolkit and as well as some of the internal details of the agent execution framework. While not all of the modules have yet been completely realized, DECAF has already been used for teaching purposes, allowing student teams, initially untutored in agent systems, to quickly build prototype multi-agent information gathering systems.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. IIS-9812764.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Barrett, T., Coen, G., Hirsh, J., Obrst, L., Spering, J., Trainer, A.: MADEsmart: An integrated design environment. In: 1997 ASME Design for Manufacturing Symposium (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Boloni, L.: BOND Objects - A White Paper. Technical Report CSD-TR 98-002, Purdue University,Department of Computer Science (February 1996)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Peter Bonasso, R., Kortenkamp, D., Whitney, T.: Using a robot control architecture to aoutomate space shuttle operation. In: Proceding of the Ninth Conference on Innovative Appications of AI (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Brazier, F.M., Dunin-Keplicz, B.M., Jennings, N.R., Treur, J.: Desire: Modeling multi-agent systems in a compositional formal framework. International Journal of Cooperative Information Systems 6(1) (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Busetta, P., Ronquist, R., Hodgson, A., Lucas, A.: Jack intelligent agents. Agent-Link News Letter (January 1990)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Busetta, P., Howden, N., Ronnquist, R., Hodgson, A.: Structuring BDI agents in functional clusters. In: Jennings, N.R. (ed.) ATAL 1999. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 1757. Springer, Heidelberg (2000)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  7. Chauhan, D.: JAFMAS: A java-based agent framework for multiagent systems development and implementation. Technical Report CS-91-06, ECECS Department, University of Cinncinati (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Cohen, P.R., Levesque, H.J.: Cohen and Hector J. Levesque. Intention is choice with commitment. Artificial Intelligence 42(3), 213–261 (1990)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  9. Decker, K.S., Pannu, A., Sycara, K., Williamson, M.: Designing behaviors for information agents. In: Proceedings of the 1st Intl. Conf. on Autonomous Agents, Marina del Rey, February 1997, pp. 404–413 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Decker, K.S., Sycara, K., Williamson, M.: Middle-agents for the internet. In: Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Nagoya, Japan, August 1997, pp. 578–583 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Decker, K.S., Lesser, V.R.: Quantitative modeling of complex computational task environments. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Washington, July 1993, pp. 217–224 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Decker, K.S., Sycara, K.: Decker and Katia Sycara. Intelligent adaptive information agents. Journal of Intelligent Information Systems 9(3), 239–260 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Erol, K., Nau, D., Hendler, J.: Semantics for hierarchical task-network planning. Technical report CS-TR-3239, UMIACS-TR-94-31, Computer Science Dept., University of Maryland (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  14. James Firby, R.: Task networks for controlling continuous processes, Seattle, WA (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Fisher, M.: Introduction to concurrent metatem (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Garvey, A., Humphrey, M., Lesser, V.: Task interdependencies in design-to-time real-time scheduling. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Washington, July 1993, pp. 580–585 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Garvey, A., Lesser, V.: Design-to-time real-time scheduling. COINS Technical Report 91–72, University of Massachusetts, (1991); To appear, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Greenwald, L., Dean, T.: A conditonal schdeuling approach to designing real-time systems. The Journal of AAAI (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Grosz, B., Kraus, S.: Collaborative plans for group activities. In: Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Chambéry, France (August 1993)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Hartley, S.J.: Concurrent Programming, The Java Programming Lanaguage. Oxford University Press, Drexel University (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Hayes-Roth, F., Erman, L., Fouse, S., Lark, J., Davidson, J.: ABE: A cooperative operating system and development environment. In: Bond, A.H., Gasser, L. (eds.) Readings in Distributed Artificial Intelligence, pp. 457–490. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Horling, B., Lesser, V., Vincent, R., Bazzan, A., Xuan, P.: Diagnosis as an integral part of multi-agent adaptability. Tech Report CS-TR-99-03, UMass (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Newell, A.: Unified Theories of Cognition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Petrie, C.J.: Agent-based engineering, the web, and intelligence. IEEE Expert, Los Alamitos (December 1996)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Rao, A.S., Georgeff, M.P.: BDI agents: From theory to practice. In: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems, San Francisco, pp. 312–319. AAAI Press, Menlo Park (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Rosenschein, J.S., Zlotkin, G.: Rules of Encounter: Designing Conventions for Automated Negotiation among Computers. MIT Press, Cambridge (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Russell, S., Wefald, E.: Do the Right Thing: Studies in Limited Rationality. MIT Press, Cambridge (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Sandholm, T., Lesser, V.: Utility-based termination of anytime agents. CS Technical Report 94–54, Univ. of Massachusetts (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Simmons, R.: Becoming increasingly reliable (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Sycara, K., Decker, K.S., Pannu, A., Williamson, M., Zeng, D.: Distributed intelligent agents. IEEE Expert 11(6), 36–46 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Wagner, T., Garvey, A., Lesser, V.: Complex goal criteria and its application in design-to-criteria scheduling. In: Proceedings of the Fourteenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Providence (July 1997)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Wallace, S.A., Laird, J.E.: Toward a methodology for AI architecture evaluation: Comparing Soar and CLIPS. In: Jennings, N.R. (ed.) ATAL 1999. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 1757. Springer, Heidelberg (2000)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  33. Williamson, M., Decker, K.S., Sycara, K.: Executing decision-theoretic plans in multi-agent environments. In: AAAI Fall Symposium on Plan Execution (November 1996) AAAI Report FS-96-01

    Google Scholar 

  34. Williamson, M., Decker, K.S., Sycara, K.: Unified information and control flow in hierarchical task networks. In: Proceedings of the AAAI-96 workshop on Theories of Planning, Action, and Control (1996)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, 19716, USA

    John R. Graham & Keith S. Decker

Authors
  1. John R. Graham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Keith S. Decker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, Southampton, UK

    Nicholas R. Jennings

  2. Department of Computer Science, York University , M3J 1P3, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Yves Lespérance

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Graham, J.R., Decker, K.S. (2000). Towards a Distributed, Environment-Centered Agent Framework. In: Jennings, N.R., Lespérance, Y. (eds) Intelligent Agents VI. Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages. ATAL 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 1757. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/10719619_22

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/10719619_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-67200-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-46467-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation