Integrating BDI Agents with Agent-Based Simulation Platforms

Authored by Brian Logan, Dhirendra Singh, Lin Padgham

Date Published: 2016

DOI: 10.1007/s10458-016-9332-x

Sponsors: Australian Research Council (ARC)

Platforms: Java MATSim

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Pseudocode

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Agent-based models (ABMs) are increasingly being used for exploring and supporting decision making about social science scenarios involving modelling of human agents. However existing agent-based simulation platforms (e.g., SWARM, Repast) provide limited support for the simulation of more complex cognitive agents required by such scenarios. We present a framework that allows Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) cognitive agents to be embedded in an ABM system. Architecturally, this means that the ``brains{''} of an agent can be modelled in the BDI system in the usual way, while the ``body{''} exists in the ABM system. The architecture is flexible in that the ABM can still have non-BDI agents in the simulation, and the BDI-side can have agents that do not have a physical counterpart (such as an organisation). The framework addresses a key integration challenge of coupling event-based BDI systems, with time-stepped ABM systems. Our framework is modular and supports integration of off-the-shelf BDI systems with off-the-shelf ABM systems. The framework is Open Source, and all integrations and applications are available for use by the modelling community.

Tags

systems Intelligent agents Multiagent Hla