Multi-agent systems: research, standards and future directions
Geoff Arnold
Sun Microsystems
Friday, 27th October 2000
0930 - 1100
SEECS library (room B1.24)
University of Melbourne Computer Science Department
SEECS Building
221 Bouverie Street, Carlton.
Abstract:
Over the last five years there has been considerable interest in the idea
of software agents, ranging from "web-bots" to desktop assistants.
For commercial IT practitioners, the most interesting type of software
agent is the kind which interacts, intelligently and proactively, with
peer agents and other software systems. The resulting multi-agent
systems allow one to model complex, asynchronous systems in a robust and
scalable fashion. This paper relates these concepts to object oriented
software design ideas, and describes their probable impact on software
engineering practice. It also reviews the work of FIPA, a broad-based
industry consortium which is developing standards in this area. [The author
is a member of the FIPA board and former editor of FIPA's architectural
specifications.]
Biosketch:
Geoff Arnold joined Sun Microsystems in August, 1985, as the first development
engineer hired into the newly-formed East Coast Division. He was
the architect of PC-NFS, and a software engineering manager on the innovative
Sun386i workstation. Over the ensuing years, Geoff worked mainly
on Sun's Network File System (NFS) technology, particularly the PC networking
product line. He became a recognised authority on PC networking within
the Internet community, and represented Sun in a variety of forums.
From 1988 to 1990 he worked within X/Open to develop the X/Open standards
for NFS, including PC-NFS and XNFS (Unix NFS). Geoff was one of the
four authors of the Windows Sockets ("WinSock") specification which led
to the explosive growth of PC-based TCP/IP networking. Geoff became
a Distinguished Engineer in January, 1992. He drove the multivendor
effort to design NFS version 3. In 1995 he became Chief Technology
Officer for Sun's networking software products. He was the technical
lead in a number of major strategic partnerships, and worked closely with
companies such as Tivoli, Apple, and IBM. He was also involved in
the definition of Sun's systems and network management strategy.
In 1998 Geoff moved into SunLabs, Sun's advanced research group, where
he heads a team that is investigating asynchronous software architectures
such as multi-agent systems. As part of this work, he is a board
member of FIPA, the Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents, and is
spearheading the development of Java standards for agent software.
He is also involved in the community process for Sun's JINI technology.
Prior to joining Sun, Geoff worked for Raytheon Data Systems and Mosaic
Technologies in the US, and for Pentagram Software, CMC, the University
of London Computer Centre and the UK Atomic Energy Authority in England.
He graduated from the University of Essex in 1972, and did postgraduate
work at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.