MAPS: a language for multi‐agent system design
Olivier Baujard, Sylvie Pesty, Catherine Garbay · Expert Systems · 1994
Abstract: A language for multi‐agent system design (MAPS) is presented and discussed in this paper. Any agent in MAPS is thought of as an expert system standing on its own. It can communicate through synchronous and asynchronous message sending. Dedicated behaviours are provided which specify how incoming messages are processed. Inter‐agent cooperation is controlled via production rules. Two pre‐defined agent classes are provided, which are given specific problem‐solving roles: Knowledge Server (KS) agents are meant to maintain and transmit knowledge about problem‐solving states, while Knowledge Processor (KP) agents are meant to process these elements in order to progress towards a solution. The duality between agent and resource modelling levels on the one hand and between KS and KP modelling styles on the other is shown to allow the specification of various control strategies. The environment is currently running on HP, SUN and DEC workstations.