Modeling Biology Inspired Reactive Agents Using X-machines
Recent advances in both the testing and verification of software based on formal specifications of the system to be built have reached a point where the ideas can be applied in a powerful way in the design of agent-based systems. The software engineering research has highlighted a number of important issues: the importance of the type of modeling technique used; the careful design of the model to enable powerful testing techniques to be used; the automated verification of the behavioural properties of the system; the need to provide a mechanism for translating the formal models into executable software in a simple and transparent way. This paper introduces the use of the X-machine formalism as a tool for modeling biology inspired agents proposing the use of the techniques built around X-machine models for the construction of effective, and reliable agent-based software systems.
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[1] N.R. Jennings, ''On agent-based software engineering'', Artificial Intelligence, vol. 117, pp.277-296, 2000. [2] M. Holcombe and F. Ipate, Correct systems: Building a business process Solution. Springer Verlag, London, 1998. [3] M. Wooldridge and P. Ciancarini, ''Agent-oriented software engineering: The state of the art'', in Proc. First Int. Workshop on Agent-Oriented Software Engineering, pp.1-28, 2000. [4] W. D. Young, ''Formal Methods versus Software Engineering: Is There a Conflict?'', In Proceedings of the Fourth Testing, Analysis, and Verification Symposium, pp. 188-899, 1991. [5] E. Clarke and J. M. Wing, ''Formal Methods: State of the Art and Future Directions'', ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 28, no.4, pp.626-643, 1996. [6] S. Eilenberg. Automata, Machines and Languages. Vol. A. Academic Press, 1974. [7] M. Holcombe, ''X-machines as a basis for dynamic system specification'', Software Engineering Journal, vol. 3, no.2, pp. 69-76, 1988. [8] M. Dorigo and G. Di Caro, ''The ant colony optimization meta-heuristic'', In D. Corne, M.Dorigo, & F. Glover (Eds.), New Ideas in Optimization, pp.11-32, McGraw-Hill, 1999. [9] J. L. Deneubourg, S. Aron, S. Goss, and J.M. Pasteels, ''The self-organizing exploratory pattern of the Argentine ant'', Journal of Insect Behavior, vol. 3, pp. 159-68, 1990. [10] R. A. Brooks, ''A robust layered control system for a mobile robot'', IEEE Journal of Robotics Automation., vol. 2, no. 7, pp.14-23, 1986. [11] S.R. Rosenschein and L.P. Kaebling, ''A situated view of representation and control'', Artificial Intelligence, vol.73, no.1-2, pp 149-173, 1995. [12] G. Eleftherakis and A.J. Cowling, ''An Agile Formal Development Methodology'', In 1st South Eastern European workshop on Formal Methods (SEEFM 03), pp. 36-47, Thessaloniki, November 2003. [13] G. Eleftherakis, P. Kefalas, and A. Sotiriadou, ''Formal Verification of Agent Models'', In I.P.Vlahavas and C.D.Spyropoulos (eds), Proceedings of the 2nd Hellenic Conference on AI (SETN02), pp.425-435, 2002. [14] P. Kefalas, G. Eleftherakis, and E. Kehris, ''Communicating X-machines: a practical approach for formal and modular specification of large systems'', Information and Software Technology, vol. 45, no.5, pp.269-280, April 2003. [15] P. Kefalas, G. Eleftherakis, and A. Sotiriadou, ''Developing Tools for Formal Methods'', In 9th Panhellenic Conference on Informatics, pp. 625-639, Thessaloniki, November 2003. [16] P. Kefalas, G. Eleftherakis, M. Holcombe, I. Stamatopoulou, "Formal Modelling of the Dynamic Behaviour of Biology-Inspired Agent-Based Systems", in Molecular Computation Models: Unconventional Approaches, M.Gheorghe (ed), Idea Publishing Group (IDG), 2005.
@article{"International Journal of Information, Control and Computer Sciences:58515", author = "George Eleftherakis and Petros Kefalas and Anna Sotiriadou and Evangelos Kehris", title = "Modeling Biology Inspired Reactive Agents Using X-machines ", abstract = "Recent advances in both the testing and verification of software based on formal specifications of the system to be built have reached a point where the ideas can be applied in a powerful way in the design of agent-based systems. The software engineering research has highlighted a number of important issues: the importance of the type of modeling technique used; the careful design of the model to enable powerful testing techniques to be used; the automated verification of the behavioural properties of the system; the need to provide a mechanism for translating the formal models into executable software in a simple and transparent way. This paper introduces the use of the X-machine formalism as a tool for modeling biology inspired agents proposing the use of the techniques built around X-machine models for the construction of effective, and reliable agent-based software systems.
", keywords = "Biology inspired agent, formal methods, x-machines.", volume = "1", number = "1", pages = "150-4", }
