Introduction

Task 1 to 4 : Modelisation

Overview of the agent based tools for modelisation

Task 5 : Platform comparison

Jade, Zeus and FIPA-OS

Scenario

• Auctions

An art manager wants to sell an artwork to a museum.

The related curator takes part into an auction as a potential buyer. The auction ends when the artwork is sold, or if no compromise is found.

 

• Visit a museum

A profiler starts a tour in a museum, whenever he watches a new artwork, he request information to the museum's curator. The curator provides these information in real-time to the profiler.

Task 2

Message-UML

Sequence diagram

Collaborative diagram

Activity diagram

StateChart

Task 1

GAIA modeling

In depth role modelisation

+ protocols description

Roles

• Responsibilities
  • safety properties
  • liveness properties
• Permissions

Example : Information Provider

Example CurrentArtwork

Task 3

Behaviors modelisation

Communicative Acts

Profiler class diagram

Artist manager-head-atomata

Task 4

Gaia vs RoMAS

RoMAS

• Use Case
• Role Organization

Use case : Auctionning

Role Organization

Task 5

Discovering different platforms

JADE review

Jade architecture

Service provided

• Agent Management Service : "White pages", naming service
• Directory Facilitator : "Yellow pages", registration, subscription

JADE review

Discovering a new platform:  ZEUS

ZEUS Architecture

• BDI based approach
• TCP/IP
• Graphical environment

ZEUS Agent architecture

Services provided

• Agent Name Service : "White pages", agent need to register to it and synchronize clock
• Facilitator : "yellow pages", system of request to the society
• Agent Visualizer, to debug or show agent society

Discovering a new platform:  ZEUS

Zeus implementation tips

• Graphical interface
• No concrete and understandable doc
• Need to create goals and to schedule them with the Planner component
• No mobility
• Not used a lot

Discovering a new platform:  ZEUS

Discovering FIPA-OS

FIPA-OS Architecture

Services provided

• AMS
• DF
• Communication channel

Discovering FIPA-OS

Implementation tips

• Behaviors vs Tasks : Tasks Manager
• Messages received by task Manager and forwarded
• Method startTask() similar to setup(), and done() also found

Discovering FIPA-OS

Implementation tips

• Special way to handle messages : Conversations/Conversation Manager
• Based on events : adding a message to a conversation create an event, invoked when the queue is done
• Service discovery through special task :
• SearchTask(), invoking SearchDF(), SearchResults( DFAgentDescription[] )

Discovering FIPA-OS

FIPA-OS usability

In 2004, 50 000 dowmloads against 40 000 for Jade

One of the still maintained platform

Projects using FIPA-OS :

• European projects :  CRUMPET, SHUFFLE, ONTOWeb
• Universities : UHe, NTU, Czetch Technical University
• Commercial : MITTRE, Jeffersson lab

JADE, ZEUS, FIPA-OS ?

1. ZEUS seems to relay on graphical interface to create agents. Not well used, and no recent modifications ( last in 2006). No mobility, that would not have been a good choice. Too hard to find documentation and practical examples, and would not apply to our HW3. BDI approach that was not necessary in our HW.
2. FIPA-OS provides similar services than JADE, without the containers-system. It is more event based, with tasks replacing behaviors. The structure would have been quite the same.
3. Using jade's containers was a really nice way to implement the agents !