From Citat
Agent Oriented Software Engineering
The MultiAgent approach offers a methodological framework well adapted to the analysis and modeling of complex systems. This approach considers systems as societies composed of autonomous and independent entities, called agents, that interact in order to solve problems or to achieve a common task. MultiAgent Systems (MAS) have been successfully applied to a great number of domains including robotics, distributed problem solving, modeling and simulation of complex systems, etc. In despite of the numerous applications, MAS exhibit a certain delay on formalization and modeling methodologies. Indeed, the design of this type of systems is often accomplished following an empiric procedure or on an ad hoc manner.
The development of models and methodologies for this paradigm are of vital interest to the proper adoption by the scientists and industry.
ASPECS - Agent-oriented Software Process for Engineering Complex Systems
Our team colaborates in the definition of the ASPECS methodology, covering the analysis, design and implementation of (holonic) multi-agent systems (H/MAS). This methodology is based upon an holonic organisational metamodel and provides a step-by-step guide from requirements to code allowing the modelling of a system at different levels of details using a set of refinement methods. It integrates design models and philosophies from both object- and agent-oriented software engineering (OOSE and AOSE). It has been built by adopting the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) and thus we defined three levels of models. The main concepts of the organizational metamodels are roles, interactions and organizations. These concepts allow for abstraction and decomposition of MAS and HMAS. ASPECS uses UML as modelling language, the UML semantics and notation are used as reference points, but they have been extended by introducing new specific profiles to fulfil the specific needs of agents and holonic organisational design. The Janus_Platform provides an implementation and execution environment for models designed with ASPECS.
Multi-Agent Systems formal specification and verification
Formal methods provide several benefits to Software Engineering. As systems become more complex and safety becomes a priority in system design, formal methods offer mechanisms and tools for system verification.
Providing formal specifications and methods for MAS meta-models and methodologies is imperious for the adoption of this technology, especially when MAS control critical environments such as nuclear plants, aerospace systems, etc.