Simple agent framework: an educational tool introducing the basics of AI programming

Abstract

We describe a Java-implemented agent framework developed for an introductory undergraduate course in knowledge engineering. Although numerous agent frameworks have been proposed in the vast body of literature, none of these available agent frameworks are simple enough for use by first year undergraduate students of computer science. Hence, we set out to create our own framework that would fulfill all requirements, satisfy the aims of the course, the computing skills level of the intended group of students, and the size of the intended group of students. Besides the designed agent framework, which embodies the concepts of concurrency, multiagent systems, and persistency, the strategy for the best possible utilization of the developed tool for the goals of guiding and instructing the students in their learning of AI concepts and techniques, is also discussed. The results of the coursework suggest that the developed agent framework is highly suitable for the purposes of teaching students the AI basics including the knowledge representation schemes, rule-based reasoning and intelligent agents paradigm.