Interoperable Multi-AgentSystems in Near-Field

Communication Networks

Mathias Rieder

Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

Contents

1. Motivation

2. MAS / Agent

3. Standards

4. JADE

5. Jade Bluetooth Extension

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Develop an understanding for Multi-Agent Systems and for

Software Agents

Show the role and the purpose of interoperability standards

Understand the architecture of JADE.Develop an implementation strategy

for an Extension without corrupting the architecture or the implemented

standardsImplement and test a Bluetooth

Message Transport Protocol.

Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

Motivation

• Moreno, Valls & Viejo presented an implementation of a MAS for mobile devices1)

– Always-connected & IP-based (GPRS)

– Implementation for MIDP/CLDC (Java MicroEdition)– They omit the idea of using short range communication

technologies for building MAS

1) Antonio Moreno, Aïda Valls, Alexandre Viejo, Using JADE-LEAP to implement agents in mobile devices, 2002

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http://www.gsmworld.com

Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

MAS

• “loosly coupled network of problem solvers that interact to solve problems that are beyond the individual capabilities or knowledge of each problem solver”

[Durfee and Lesser, 1990]

– distributed Agents with incomplete of information or capabilities to solve a problem

– No system global control– No centralized knowledge base– Agents run asynchronously / in parallel

[Sycara, 1998]

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

Agent

• [Russel and Norvig, 2003]– Agent Function

f … Agent FunctionP ... all possible perceptions

(measurements)E … EnvironmentA … all possible Actions

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AEPf )(*:

Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

Standards

• Foundation For Intelligent Physical Agents – FIPA– FIPA Abstract Architecture• promote interoperable agent applications and to define

a common agent infrastructure

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

Standards (2)

• MAS Interoperability• Agent Interoperability

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

JADE

• Java Agent Development– 100% pure Java

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

JADE (2)

• How do Agents communicate with each other?– FIPA compliant Message Transportation– Asynchronous Messaging (Mailbox)

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

JADE (3)

• How do Containers manage Message Transport?– JADE Containers implement the Composite Filter Pattern

• Decorate an Object with a chain of filters for incoming and outgoing method calls. (inspired by Aspect-oriented programming)

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[Bergmans and Aksit, 2004]

Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

JADE (4)

• How do Containers manage the Message Transport?– Agents communicate with the container using the Command-Pattern.

The commands travel through the filter chain (Composite Filters)

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

JADE (5)

• How to tell the container to use Bluetooth?– Message Delivery Filter (“CommunicationChannel”) must

be extended in order to use Bluetooth

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

JADE Bluetooth Extension

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

JADE Bluetooth Extension (2)

• Connection SetupBT-InquiryService Discovery– ~ 17 sec

• Avg. Roundtriptime– ~250 ms

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

Future Work

• More detailed performance measurements– Implement test-scenarious proposed by [Vitaglione et

al., 2002].• Message Routing– Inter-container routing in order to support higher

distance• Fully distributed MAS– Implement the FIPA components (AMS, DF) as fully

distributed databases as proposed by [Jinbae Park, 2009] in order to get rid of the Main-Container.

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Interoperable MAS in NFC Networks

References• [Antonio Moreno, 2003] Antonio Moreno, Aida Valls, A. V. (2003). Using jade

leap to implement agents in mobile devices.• [Durfee and Lesser, 1990] Durfee, E. H. and Lesser (1990). Negotiating task

decomposition and allocation using partial global planning.• [Sycara, 1998] Sycara, K. P. (1998). Multiagent systems. AI Magazine, 19(2).• [Russell and Norvig, 2003] Russell, S. J. and Norvig, P. (2003). Articial

Intelligence: A Modern Approach. Pearson Education.• [Bergmans and Aksit, 2004] Bergmans, D. L. and Aksit, P. M. (2004). Principles

and design rationale of composition lters. In lman, R., elrad, T., Clarke, S.,and Aksit, M., editors, Aspect Oriented Software Development

• [Vitaglione et al., 2002] Vitaglione, G., Quarta, F., and Cortese, E. (2002). Scalability and performance of jade message transport system.

• [Jinbae Park, 2009] Jinbae Park, Hyunsang Youn, E. L. (2009). A mobile agent platform for supporting ad-hoc network environment. International Journal of Grid and Distributed Computing.

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