Intelligent Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

Abstract

Multi-Agent systems (MAS) are typical KBS and intelligent agents are viewed as extensions of KBS. Originating from the field of Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI), agent and Multi-Agent (MA) technology has been at the forefront of research in the last decade (Nilsson, 1998). Since the late 1980s, researchers have applied agent technology to perform tasks, and it is considered a promising paradigm for intelligent manufacturing (Shen & Norrie, 2001). In the 21st century especially, the manufacturing industry has become more and more competitive in a market that is frequently changing. Manufacturing systems should therefore move to support product innovation, global competitiveness and rapid market responsiveness. Recent new developments in agent and MA technology have brought new and interesting possibilities (Jennings & Wooldridge, 1998), researchers have been trying to develop and apply agent technology for supporting intelligent manufacturing, and there have been many projects in agent-based intelligent manufacturing. The basic theory and applications of agent and MAS are introduced in this chapter. The recent development of agent and MAS is reviewed, and the current research level of MAS is also summarized. Finally, the fundamentals of agent technology including communication and interaction, collaboration and behavior coordination, are presented.