A generic model for a robotic agent system using GAIA methodology: Two distinct implementations

Abstract

The emergence of multi-agent systems in the past years has led to a necessity of developing new methodologies to assist in the requirements and architectural analysis, and in the design phases of such a system, and as a consequence, several Agent Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) methodologies have been proposed. In this paper, we analyze the GAIA methodology and some proposed extensions, and use this methodology to design an abstract generic system model for an open multi-robot application. We then derive two distinct specific models for two different applications - the first with the intention of using intelligent wheelchairs in a hospital environment, and the second targeting the use of teams of autonomous aircrafts. The successful adoption of the generic model in the design stages of the two distinct systems not only validates the proposed model and shows that it can be used in open multi-agent systems, but also shows it is also flexible enough to be used in systems as diverse as these. By adapting the GAIA methodology for the design of open systems, this work enables designers to model open systems in a faster and simpler form, decreasing the time needed to complete several tasks, while maintaining a high-level overview of the system.