An Agent Model in a Multiagent System Architecture for Automating Distributed Systems

First International Conference on Multiagent Systems

Volume

First International Conference on Multiagent Systems

Contents

In this paper we discuss the conceptual foundation for a Multi-Agent System (MAS) which is being prototyped automate mission operations for unmanned scientific satellites. A basic agent model has been developed and is used to characterize the agents of the MAS. Using this model three classes of agents have been currently identified and incorporated into the MAS prototype. These are: the user interface agent which serves as the main point of interaction between a user and the MAS; an agent manager which is responsible for coordinating the activities of a community of agents within the MAS; and domain agents whose specialized knowledge enable them to accomplish domain-specific tasks.