The agent systems reference model (ASRM) is a layered, abstract description for multiagent systems. As such, the reference model

Reference Model

A reference model in systems, enterprise, and software engineering is a model of something that embodies the basic goal or idea of something and can then be looked at as a reference for various purposes.- Overview :...

• provides a taxonomy of terms, concepts and definitions to compare agent systems;
• identifies functional elements that are common in agent systems;
• captures data flow and dependencies among the functional elements in agent systems; and
• specifies assumptions and requirements regarding the dependencies among these elements.

The ASRM differentiates itself from technical standards, such as Knowledge Interchange Format

Knowledge Interchange Format

Knowledge Interchange Format is a computer-oriented language for the interchange of knowledge among disparate computer programs.It has declarative semantics ; it is logically comprehensive Knowledge Interchange Format (KIF) is a computer-oriented language for the interchange of knowledge among...

, Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language

Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language

The Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language, or KQML, is a languageand protocol for communication among software agents and knowledge-based systems. It was...

, and those of the Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents

FIPA

The Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents is a body for developing and setting computer software standards for heterogeneous and interacting agents and agent-based systems....

 in that it defines the required existence of components of a multiagent system; standards prescribe how they are designed.

Technical approach

The ASRM was technically constructed through forensic software analysis

Reverse engineering

Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...

 of existing agent-based systems. Such fielded systems include JaDE

Java Agent Development Framework

Java Agent DEvelopment Framework, or JADE, is a software framework for multi-agent systems, in Java that has been in development since at least 2001...

, Cougaar

Cougaar

Cougaar is a Java-based architecture for the construction of large-scale distributed multi-agent systems. Cougaar is the product of multi-year DARPA research projects ALP and Ultra*Log...

, EMAA, NOMADS, Retsina, A-Globe, among others. In so doing, through empirical evidence, the ASRM motivates its functional breakdown of agent-based systems.

Description of the ASRM layers

ASRM: the Layered Model
		Layer	Examples
Agent-based System	Agent system	Agent	Soar Soar (cognitive architecture) Soar is a symbolic cognitive architecture, created by John Laird, Allen Newell, and Paul Rosenbloom at Carnegie Mellon University, now maintained by John Laird's research group at the University of Michigan. It is both a view of what cognition is and an implementation of that view through a... , KBs Knowledge base A knowledge base is a special kind of database for knowledge management. A Knowledge Base provides a means for information to be collected, organised, shared, searched and utilised.-Types:... , neural network Neural network The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
		Framework	JaDE Java Agent Development Framework Java Agent DEvelopment Framework, or JADE, is a software framework for multi-agent systems, in Java that has been in development since at least 2001... , Cougaar Cougaar Cougaar is a Java-based architecture for the construction of large-scale distributed multi-agent systems. Cougaar is the product of multi-year DARPA research projects ALP and Ultra*Log... , GNUBrain, EMAA, NOMADS, Retsina, A-Globe
	Infrastructure	Platform	OS Operating system An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...  (e.g. Windows Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal... , GNU+Linux Linux Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds... ) Software (e.g. Compiler Compiler A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language... , VMs Virtual machine A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software... ) Device drivers, Firmware Firmware In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...
		Host	Computing node (e.g. PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... , PDA Personal digital assistant A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet... , mobile phone Mobile phone A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator... ) Devices (e.g. network cards, GPS, robitic actuators Robotics Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots... , sensors)
		Environment	Earth Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets... , Robot soccer arena RoboCup RoboCup is an international robotics competition founded in 1997. The aim is to develop autonomous soccer robots with the intention of promoting research and education in the field of artificial intelligence... , simulated environment Simulation Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....

History

The ASRM was started in July 2005, with the first draft having been completed in November 2006. Contributors to the document have included Drexel University

Drexel University

Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...

, Cougaar Software

Cougaar

Cougaar is a Java-based architecture for the construction of large-scale distributed multi-agent systems. Cougaar is the product of multi-year DARPA research projects ALP and Ultra*Log...

, Global InfoTek (see also: CoABS), Soar Technology (see also: Soar

Soar (cognitive architecture)

Soar is a symbolic cognitive architecture, created by John Laird, Allen Newell, and Paul Rosenbloom at Carnegie Mellon University, now maintained by John Laird's research group at the University of Michigan. It is both a view of what cognition is and an implementation of that view through a...

), Penn State University, University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

, University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

, the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, University of West Florida

University of West Florida

The University of West Florida, also known as West Florida and UWF, is a mid-sized public university located in Pensacola, Florida, United States. UWF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. The University of West Florida is a Research University, which specializes in...

, BBN Technologies

BBN Technologies

BBN Technologies is a high-technology company which provides research and development services. BBN is based next to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA...

, Telcordia, Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

, General Dynamics

General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...

 and others.

See also

• 4D-RCS Reference Model Architecture
  4D-RCS Reference Model Architecture
  The 4D/RCS Reference Model Architecture is a reference model for military unmanned vehicles on how their software components should be identified and organized.4D/RCS has been developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology...
  
  
• Agent based model
  Agent based model
  An agent-based model is a class of computational models for simulating the actions and interactions of autonomous agents with a view to assessing their effects on the system as a whole...
  
  
• Artificial Intelligence
  Artificial intelligence
  Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
  
  
• Complex systems
  Complex systems
  Complex systems present problems in mathematical modelling.The equations from which complex system models are developed generally derive from statistical physics, information theory and non-linear dynamics, and represent organized but unpredictable behaviors of systems of nature that are considered...
  
  
• Distributed artificial intelligence
  Distributed artificial intelligence
  Distributed artificial intelligence is a subfield of artificial intelligence research dedicated to the development of distributed solutions for complex problems regarded as requiring intelligence...
  
  
• Intelligent agent
  Intelligent agent
  In artificial intelligence, an intelligent agent is an autonomous entity which observes through sensors and acts upon an environment using actuators and directs its activity towards achieving goals . Intelligent agents may also learn or use knowledge to achieve their goals...
  
  
• Multiagent system
• Reference model
  Reference Model
  A reference model in systems, enterprise, and software engineering is a model of something that embodies the basic goal or idea of something and can then be looked at as a reference for various purposes.- Overview :...
  
  
• Software agent
  Software agent
  In computer science, a software agent is a piece of software that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency, which derives from the Latin agere : an agreement to act on one's behalf...
  
  

Further reading

• Version 1.0a of the ASRM
• The Case for a Reference Model for Agent-Based Systems. Pragnesh Jay Modi, William C. Regli and Israel Mayk. In Proceedings of the IEEE Workshop on Distributed Intelligent Systems: Collective Intelligence and Its Applications. June, 2006. Pages 321–325.
• Regli, W. C., Mayk, I., Dugan, C. J., Kopena, J. B., Lass, R. N., Modi, P. J., Mongan, W. M., Salvage, J. K., and Sultanik, E. A. "Development and specification of a reference model for agent-based systems." IEEE Trans. Sys. Man Cyber Part C 39, 5 (Sep. 2009), 572–596.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=4926156