Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 7.1.
The features of autonomous agents. The common features can be seen in
the diagram on the left and they are the ability to plan, to act, and to perceive the
external world. The feature list on the right describes the unique characteristics of
an autonomous agent that define its purpose and necessary skills
always customized to the problem being solved. They are in some sense the
final manifestation of the agent's plan, and without them, the agent's choices
have no meaning.
The ability to perceive the operating environment is another feature com-
mon in all autonomous agents. Its primary purpose is to allow the agent to
determine whether previous actions were successful and to detect changes in
the operating environment. This information is used to update the agent's
world model as well as its self-model and ultimately to allow the agent to
adapt its plans in the continuing pursuit of its goals. In some agents, the sens-
ing of the operating environment is a goal in itself and this sensed information
is delivered to the agent's superior without interpretation.
While the abilities to plan, act, and perceive are common to all agents,
there are many features where they may differ. Some of these features are
are the defining aspects of an agent. Other key aspects include: what the agent
must do, what knowledge and skills it must have, the actions it must be able
to perform, the kinds of perception required, and how it plans.
The domain and purpose dictate the degree of individual identity the co-
operating agents must have. In some domains, the cooperating agents have
common skills, share control of the resources, and have large overlaps in their
world models. Often the world models are managed externally to the agents.
Agents working in these domains tend to have a low degree of individual
identity and are often interchangeable. They have little or no self-model. An
example would be a large public scheduling task where the agents are all
working together to create a common schedule. The schedule, which forms a
