Agent-based distribution control and automation system

In order to promote disciplined development of agent-based distribution control and automation systems, a generic three-layered multi-agent architecture is presented in this paper. The main focus is on the proposed layered architecture delineating various needs of an agent-based system, thus supporting incremental specification, design, implementation, and testing. The use of multiagent system (MAS) technology provides a flexible and scalable architecture. Some issues about the design of agent-based software, such as the internal model of agents, identifying required agents, agent task realization, agent interactions, MAS ontology, and implementation, are discussed.