Communication and Cooperation in Agent Systems: A Pragmatic TheoryThis book is devoted to the design and analysis of techniques enabling intelligent and dynamic cooperation and communication among agents in a distributed environment. A flexible theoretical formalism is developed in detail and it is demonstrated how this approach can be used for the design of agent architectures in practice. The formal part of this work is based on a variant of the BDI logic introduced by Georgeff and Rao. This book, for the first time, outlines this formalism in some depth. The most important practical benefit provided is the concept of cooperation protocols allowing the representation of various methods of cooperation and possible patterns of dialogue. |
Contents
1 Introduction | 1 |
12 Intentional Systems | 2 |
13 Intentional Attitudes | 6 |
14 The Objectives and Outline of this Book | 7 |
141 The Objectives | 8 |
143 Outline of this Book | 11 |
2 Review of the Theories on Agents as Intentional Systems | 13 |
23 Knowledge and Belief | 14 |
44 Rules of Goals to Communicate | 85 |
45 Communication for a Potential Cooperation | 90 |
46 Illustration | 93 |
47 Discussion | 98 |
5 Modelling Interactions in COSY Agent Architecture | 101 |
53 COSY Agent Architecture | 102 |
54 Protocols and their Execution | 105 |
541 Cooperation Protocols | 107 |
24 Intentions | 19 |
241 Cohen and Levesques Formalism | 23 |
242 Rao and Georgeffs Formalism | 27 |
243 Other Formalisms of Intentions | 30 |
25 Rationality Reasoning and Decision Making | 33 |
26 Reciprocity | 34 |
Background | 35 |
Formalisms | 37 |
27 Communication | 45 |
272 Interaction Protocols | 47 |
28 Discussion | 49 |
3 A Formal Theory of Commitments | 51 |
33 The Logical Framework | 53 |
331 Syntax of the Language | 54 |
333 Actions and Plans | 59 |
334 Belief Desire and Intention | 62 |
335 The Logical System | 70 |
341 Commitment | 71 |
342 Definition of the Main Reasoning Constructs | 73 |
343 Axioms of Procommitments and Commitments | 76 |
35 Discussion | 81 |
4 Specification of Reasoning behind Interactions | 83 |
43 Rules of Commitments | 84 |
542 The Protocol Execution Component | 111 |
55 The Reasoning and Deciding Component | 112 |
551 The Task Selector | 115 |
552 The MeansEnd Reasoner | 116 |
553 The Scheduler and The Events Monitor | 117 |
56 Reasoning about Communication | 118 |
561 Active Protocol Selection | 119 |
562 IntraProtocol Decisions | 120 |
571 Modelling Reasoning and Decisions in Task Delegation | 122 |
572 Illustration | 124 |
58 Comparison to Other BDI Architectures | 128 |
59 Discussion | 131 |
6 Summary and Conclusion | 133 |
62 Issues for Further study | 134 |
63 Moving from Specification to Execution | 135 |
64 Conclusion | 136 |
A Systems of Temporal Logic | 137 |
A2 FirstOrder Linear Temporal Logic FOLTL | 138 |
A3 Prepositional Branching Temporal Logic PBTL | 139 |
A4 FirstOrder Branching Temporal Logic FOBTL | 140 |
B Syntax of Messages in COSY | 141 |
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Common terms and phrases
achieve actions Active Scripts agent believes approach axioms behaviour BEL Pre-commit Bratman capture chapter characterise cognitive component context of task convention COSY agent architecture data structures decision theory defined denote described desire-accessible worlds desires dialogue E(Achieves example execution first-order first-order logic formalism formulae framework Georgeff given goal to communicate goals and intentions illocutionary force individual agents inference rules intentional attitudes intentional stance intentional systems interactions joint goal joint intentions knowledge language Linear Temporal Logic means-end reasoning process message type modal operators module multi-agent systems mutual beliefs negotiation node normal modal logic operators plan expression possible worlds potential for cooperation primitive communication Proceedings proposition rational reasoning and decisions refers require role Scheduler Section semantics specification speech act sub-contractor task adoption task delegation Temporal Logic terms of cooperation Theorem theory tion well-formed formula