Object-Oriented Representation of Time-Varying Data Sequences in Multiagent Systems

Abstract

In this paper we present an object-oriented representation of time-varying sequences of iconic and object data which is designed to be used within complex dynamic systems. As an example environment, we developed and implemented a software system for a team of soccer playing robots competing in RoboCup98 in Paris. Robot soccer is a new standard problem of a complex and highly dynamic system of fast-moving robots, where various technologies must be incorporated, including: multi-agent collaboration, real-time reasoning, vision, and sensor fusion. Data sequence objects may serve for naturally connecting different componets. This approach facilitates the development of independent and exchangeable program modules, which feed data sequences with new values and consume data from others continuously and simultaneously. This leads to a network representation of programs, with data sequences as nodes and functional objects as transitions. The presented sequence model is independent of the enca...