An Agent Algebra for the Formal Description and Verification of Multi Agent Systems.
Alexander Kick · 1995
Multi agent systems (MASs) are usually complicated and therefore error-prone. Especially the fact that there is a lot of interaction between agents can cause serious errors. Formal description and verification can make MASs suitable for control of safety critical systems such as flight control. In contrast to verfication methods, such as the use of BDI (belief, desire, intention) logics, e.g., (Rao Georgetf 1993), which can be used to verify for instance commitment properties of rational agents, our agent algebra is intended to be used for more concrete properties such as safety or progress properties (deadlock freedom, fairness, ...) of more action-oriented agents. In MASs there can be both positive and negative interactions among agents (yon Martial 1990). On the one hand, agents may or even have to cooperate to achieve their goals. On the other hand, the agents’ actions may collide.