An Observation Framework for Multi-agent Systems

Existing middleware platforms for multi-agent systems (MAS) do not provide general support for observation. On the other hand, observation is considered to be an important mechanism needed for realizing effective and efficient coordination of agents. This paper describes a framework called Agent Observable Environment (AOE) for observation-based interaction in MAS. The framework provides 1) possibility to model MAS components with RDF-based observable soft-bodies, 2) support for both query and publish/subscribe style ontology-driven observation, and 3) ability to restrict the visibility of observable information using observation rules. Additionally, we report on an implementation of the framework for the JADE middleware platform, where AOE is realized as a custom kernel service.