software agents Papers

Domestic and industrial robots, intelligent software agents, and virtual world avatars are quickly becoming a part of our society. Just like it is necessary to be able to accurately authenticate identity of human beings, it is becoming essential to be able to determine identities of the non-biological entities. This paper presents current state of the art in virtual reality security, focusing specifically on emerging methodologies for avatar authentication. It also makes a strong link between... Read more

As this paper illustrates, a lot of work is being directed at the development of agents. Researchers are exploring ways to make agents smarter, to allow them to learn by observing us, to make them appear more lifelike. However, relatively little work is being focused on how people might actually experience agents, and on how agents might be designed so that we feel comfortable with them. Read more

Since the beginning of recorded history, people have been fascinated with the idea of non-human agencies. Popular notions about androids, humanoids, robots, cyborgs, and science fiction creatures permeate our culture, forming the unconscious backdrop against which software agents are perceived. The word “robot,” derived from the Czech word for drudgery, became popular following Karel Capek’s 1921 play RUR: Rossum Universal Robots. While Capek’s robots were factory workers, the public has also at times embraced the... Read more

The advent of software agents gave rise to much discussion of just what such an agent is, and of how they differ from programs in general. Here we propose a formal definition of an autonomous agent which clearly distinguishes a software agent from just any program. We also offer the beginnings of a natural kinds taxonomy of autonomous agents, and discuss possibilities for further classification. Finally, we discuss subagents and multiagent systems. Read more

Agent software is a rapidly developing area of research. However, the overuse of the word ‘agent’ has tended to mask the fact that, in reality, there is a truly heterogeneous body of research being carried out under this banner. This overview paper presents a typology of agents. Next, it places agents in context, defines them and then goes on, inter alia, to overview critically the rationales, hypotheses, goals, challenges and state-of-the-art demonstrators of the various agent... Read more

The software world is one of great richness and diversity. Many thousands of software products are available to users today, providing a wide variety of information and services in a wide variety of domains. While most of these programs provide their users with significant value when used in isolation, there is increasing demand for programs that can interoperate - to exchange information and services with other programs and thereby solve problems that cannot be solved alone. Part... Read more

There is a wide gulf between the formal logics used by logicians to describe agents and the informal vocabulary used by people who actually build robotic or software agents. In an effort to help bridge the gap, this report applies techniques borrowed from the field of formal software methods to develop a common vocabulary. Terms useful for discussing agents are given formal definitions. A framework for describing agents, tasks and environments is developed using the Z specification language. The terms successful,... Read more