2.4. Multi-agent technology
Distributed intelligence is very often implemented by means of the multi-agent technology .The key elements of this technology are Intelligent Agents.
An Intelligent Agent (also called Smart Agent or Software Agent) is a software object capable of communicating with other intelligent agents, as well as with humans, with a view to achieving a given task.
Intelligent in this context implies being capable of
• comprehending tasks that need to be performed,
• choosing the most effective strategy and tactics for the task in hand,
• selecting relevant correspondents (other agents or humans),
• composing meaningful messages and sending them to selected correspondents,
• interpreting received messages,
• making decisions on how to respond to the content of received messages making sure that the decision contributes to the achievement of system goals,
• acting upon these decisions.
A Multi-Agent System (Swarm of Agents, Team of Agents, Society of Agents) is a system consisting of intelligent agents competing or co-operating with each other, with a view to achieving system objectives. The process of negotiation between agents creates the emergent intelligence of the system. There is evidence to claim that the larger the number of agents within a multi-agent system, the greater its Emergent Intelligence.
Ontology contains extensive knowledge on the domain in which the system operates.The knowledge is structured in terms of Objects, Properties, Attributes, Scripts and Relationships and thus resembles an augmented semantic network. The performance of agents critically depends upon the quality of the domain knowledge stored in ontology. Ontology can be modified by users of the system and in some cases will evolve through internal processes of eliminating its own useless components and experimenting with new ones.
Virtual World is the place where software agents are created when needed, where they interact with each other and are destroyed when their useful life comes to an end. Since each software agent represents a person, organizational unit or a physical object from the domain under consideration, the Virtual World is a dynamic model of the Real World. The challenge is to design a Virtual World that will reflect all relevant situations observable in the Real World, and all changes of these situations.
Runtime Engine together with Extensions contains all the algorithms and protocols required for proper functioning of agents. The Engine is as complex as a multitasking operating system. It supports parallel running of a very large number of agents and enables their interaction at great speed. The current version of the engine supports typically 500,000 agents working in parallel and exchanging 50,000 messages per second.
Interface links the multi-agent system with users and other software. The interface with other software is based on international standards, including XML and COBRA. Multi-Agent Systems can be ported to all standard platforms.
For the projects described in this paper, inpidual agents have been designed to be relatively simple. They act within rules, guidelines and constraints stored in ontology scripts. The intelligence of the system emerges from the interaction of a very large number of simple agents.
智能概念设计机电一体化系统1引言目前的全球市场状况是不稳定和不可预测的。在以后工业信息经济支撑的社会，我们必须要学习生活的复杂性、动态性和不确定性的需求和供给条件。传统的自动化系统是刚性的，是不能够快速响应变化的需求和供应。自动化是以其目前的形式，不断提供快捷。最近作为一个顾问的经验，一个主要的汽车制造商确认有多大订单规格的中断和随之而来的成本引起的频繁变化。这些损失很少宣传，但他们是存在的，可能会随着时间的增加。 智能概念设计机电一体化系统英文文献和中文翻译(3):http://www.youerw.com/fanyi/lunwen_44391.html