MOBMAS: A methodology for ontology-based multi-agent systems development

Ontologies offer significant benefits to multi-agent systems: interoperability, reusability, support for multi-agent system (MAS) development activities (such as system analysis and agent knowledge modeling) and support for MAS operation (such as agent communication and reasoning). This paper presents an ontology-based methodology, MOBMAS, for the analysis and design of multi-agent systems. MOBMAS is the first methodology that explicitly identifies and implements the various ways in which ontologies can be used in the MAS development process and integrated into the MAS model definitions. In this paper, we present comprehensive documentation and validation of MOBMAS.     

An ontology based approach to organize multi-agent assisted supply chain negotiations

Effective supply chain management (SCM) comprises activities involving the demand and supply of resources and services. Negotiation is an essential approach to solve conflicting transaction and scheduling problems among supply chain members. The multi-agent system (MAS) technology has provided the potential of automating supply chain negotiations to alleviate human interactions. Software agents are supposed to perform on behalf of their human owners only when equipped with sophisticated negotiation knowledge. To better organize the negotiation knowledge utilized by agents and facilitate agents’ adaptive negotiation decision making ability, an ontology-based approach is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the multi-agent assisted supply chain negotiation scheme is presented to configure the general design components of the negotiation system, covering the agent intelligence modules, the knowledge organization method and the negotiation protocol. Then, the ontology-based negotiation knowledge organization method is specified. The negotiation knowledge is separated into shared negotiation ontology and private negotiation ontology to ensure both the agent communicative interoperability and the privacy of strategic knowledge. Inference rules are defined on top of the private negotiation ontology to guide agents’ reasoning ability. Through this method, agents’ negotiation behaviors will be more adaptive to various negotiation environments utilizing corresponding negotiation knowledge.     

复杂系统基于Agent的建模与仿真设计模式及软件框架

提出了一种基于Agent的建模与仿真设计模式——ABMS设计模式，阐述了ABMS设计模式的主要内容。该模式的提出有利于在建模与仿真领域以及软件开发界之间建立关于ABMS的对话联系与交流。然后设计了一种包含仿真服务模型ServerAgent和仿真模型结构SimAgent的ABMS分布仿真框架，该框架将最大限度实现仿真重用，并将支持大规模的基于Agent的复杂系统的仿真，包括军事对抗以及天战系统的仿真。该框架部分借鉴了HLA的思想，其中的ServerAgent提供底层的通用仿真服务。     

基于MPEG-7本体的多媒体信息互操作研究

传统本体技术不能很好地解决多媒体信息系统的互操作问题。为实现多硬件平台下分布式、异构多媒体信息的互操作,采用MPEG-7本体描述多媒体信息。并在此基础上提出了基于MPEG-7本体的多媒体信息互操作框架,该框架采用MPEG-7本体,领域本体与应用本体等三个层次来描述对象。给出了框架的分层描述及具体功能。该框架已在高性能宽带信息网应用示范E-Show数字博览平台系统设计中采用,并取得了良好的应用效果。     

Achieving Mobile Agent Systems interoperability through software layering

Interoperability is a key issue for a wider adoption of mobile agent systems (MASs) in heterogeneous and open distributed environments where agents, in order to fulfill their tasks, must interact with non-homogeneous agents and traverse different agent platforms to access remote resources. To date, while several approaches have been proposed to deal with different aspects of MAS interoperability, they all lack the necessary flexibility to provide an adequate degree of interoperability among the currently available MASs. In this paper, we propose an application-level approach grounded in the software layering concept, which enables execution, migration and communication interoperability between Java-based mobile agent systems, thus overcoming major setbacks affecting the other approaches currently proposed for supporting MAS interoperability. In particular, we define a Java-based framework, named JIMAF, which relies on an event-driven, proxy-based mobile agent model and supports interoperable mobile agents which can be easily coded and adapted to existing MASs without any modifications of the MAS infrastructures. Results from the performance evaluation of MAS interoperability was carried by using JIMAF atop Aglets, Ajanta, Grasshopper, and Voyager, demonstrating that the high-level JIMAF approach offers high efficacy while maintaining overhead at acceptable levels for target computing environments.     

Service-oriented architecture for ontologies supporting multi-agent system negotiations in virtual enterprise

This paper offers a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for ontology-based multi-agent system (MAS) negotiations in the context of virtual enterprises (VEs). The objective of this paper is fourfold. First, it is to design a SOA which utilizes ontology and MAS to provide a distributed and interoperable environment for automated negotiations in VE. In this architecture, individual ontologies for both the VE initiator and its potential partners are constructed to describe and store resources and service knowledge. Second, a series of semantic ontology matching methods are developed to reach agents’ interoperability during the negotiation process. Third, correspondence-based extended contract net protocol is presented, which provides basic guidelines for agents’ reaching mutual understandings and service negotiation. Last, a fuzzy set theory based knowledge reuse approach is proposed to evaluate the current negotiation behaviors of the VE partners. A walkthrough example is presented to illustrate the methodologies and system architecture proposed in this paper.     

An ontology-based collaborative service-oriented simulation framework with Microsoft Robotics Studio®

In Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), the concepts that services can be discovered and application can be composed via service discovery bring great flexibility to application development [Y. Chen, W.T. Tsai, Distributed Service-Oriented Software Development, Kendall/Hunt, 2008, [4]]. Microsoft Robotics Studio (MSRS) is a recent initiative in applying SOA to embedded systems and one of its key features is its 3-D simulation tool that allows applications to be simulated before deployment. This paper proposes an ontology-based service-oriented simulation framework with MSRS by adding a set of ontology systems, i.e., service ontology, workflow ontology, entity ontology, and environment ontology. These ontology systems store relevant information useful to compose simulation applications, and items stored also cross reference to each other to facilitate reusability and rapid application composition, This paper then provides a detailed case study on a popular robotic game Sumobot using MSRS to illustrate the key concepts and how they can support rapid simulation development.¹     

Expert system methodologies and applications—a decade review from 1995 to 2004

This paper surveys expert systems (ES) development using a literature review and classification of articles from 1995 to 2004 with a keyword index and article abstract in order to explore how ES methodologies and applications have developed during this period. Based on the scope of 166 articles from 78 academic journals (retrieved from five online database) of ES applications, this paper surveys and classifies ES methodologies using the following eleven categories: rule-based systems, knowledge-based systems, neural networks, fuzzy ESs, object-oriented methodology, case-based reasoning, system architecture, intelligent agent systems, database methodology, modeling, and ontology together with their applications for different research and problem domains. Discussion is presented, indicating the followings future development directions for ES methodologies and applications: (1) ES methodologies are tending to develop towards expertise orientation and ES applications development is a problem-oriented domain. (2) It is suggested that different social science methodologies, such as psychology, cognitive science, and human behavior could implement ES as another kind of methodology. (3) The ability to continually change and obtain new understanding is the driving power of ES methodologies, and should be the ES application of future works.     

基于本体的特定领域软件体系结构设计的研究

随着软件重用技术的不断发展和成熟,软件重用已从代码级逐步提高到系统级,特定领域的软件体系结构设计是系统级软件重用的重要研究内容之一。为了进一步提高软件重用性和建立一个理想的软件体系结构,文中对特定领域软件体系结构、本体进行了基本分析,介绍了本体在特定领域软件体系结构设计中的应用研究,从而,提出了一个体系结构与实际应用相结合有效途径。     

A method for building ontology-based electronic document management systems for quality standards—the case study of the ISO/TS 16949:2002 automotive standard

Different methods and methodologies have been developed for building ontologies. However, neither of these methods consider to build an ontology with characteristics of an electronic document management system (EDMS) nor define the basic classes to begin the ontology. In this paper we propose a method, called “OntoDocMan”, to build an ontology-based EDMS which captures the knowledge associated with a company’s processes related to a quality standard. We leverage the use of ontology tools, such as Protégé, to obtain the functionality of an EDMS. Our method complements and details the On-To-Knowledge methodology during its ontology development phase. The essential point of our method is to make it easy to develop an EDMS for quality standards by means of an ontology-based system. The OntoDocMan method is illustrated by a case study for developing an ontology based on the ISO/TS 16949, which is a Technical Specification (TS) and we show that the Ontology system is friendly and easy to use as any EDMS. Different from common EDMS, our ontology-based EDMS is developed without any programming. In addition, we have discovered that this kind of ontology-based EDMS is an excellent tool for helping auditors to search and validate information, besides new employees can learn about the company’s processes.     

Towards a Machine of a Process (MOP) ontology to facilitate e-commerce of industrial machinery

Adapting to user's requirements is a key factor for enterprise success. Despite the existence of several approaches that point in this direction, simplifying integration and interoperability among users, suppliers and the enterprise during product lifecycle, is still an open issue. Ontologies have been used in some manufacturing applications and they promise to be a valid approach to model manufacturing resources of enterprises (e.g. machinery and raw material). Nevertheless, in this domain, most of the ontologies have been developed following methodologies based on development from scratch, thus ontologies previously developed have been discarded. Such ontological methodologies tend to hold the interoperability issues in some level. In this paper, a method that integrates ontology reuse with ontology validation and learning is presented. An upper (top-level) ontology for manufacturing was used as a reference to evaluate and to improve specific domain ontology. The evaluation procedure was based on the systemic methodology for ontology learning (SMOL). As a result of the application of SMOL, an ontology entitled Machine of a Process (MOP) was developed. The terminology included in MOP was validated by means of a text mining procedure called Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency (TF–IDF) which was carried out on documents from the domain in this study. Competency questions were performed on preexisting domain ontologies and MOP, proving that this new ontology has a performance better than the domain ontologies used as seed.     

基于多智能体系统的面向对象本体研究

智能体间的信息交互和行为协调是共同完成被委托任务的必要条件,论文提出了在多智能体系统中智能体本身必须建立领域模型的技术要求,即用本体支持运行时的语义交互。为此,文中用面向对象的知识表示方法描述并建立本体,并以此为基础形成领域操作代数系统和智能体服务描述语言。结合开放购买的仿真案例,表明在一个完整的情景语义交互中,服务提供方需要以智能体服务描述语言表述自己提供服务的方法和过程,而接受服务方必须在理解智能体服务描述语言的基础上,获取某一具体服务。     

基于OMCM的仿真系统概念建模方法

针对仿真系统概念模型开发中存在的模型重用性不高和缺乏管理等问题,提出了元概念模型(Meta Concep-tual Model,MCM)的概念,以实现更高层次上的概念模型抽象。将本体思想引入MCM的设计中,提出了基于本体的元概念模型(Ontology-based MCM,OMCM)概念,并给出了OMCM的层次结构和建模方法。通过将OMCM和概念模型进行映射,实现了基于OMCM的概念模型建模。最后,将该方法应用于装备保障仿真系统概念模型的建模中,起到了很好的效果。     

异构电子商务集成平台的本体模型构建

针对电子商务数据异构的特点,研究用本体技术实现异构电子商务的集成平台.通过不同电子商务本体特征的挖掘和抽取,提出异构电子商务集成平台的本体模型构建方法.实现电子商务本体协同的"即插即用"互操作集成模型.     

一种履带式本体构建模型

为了有效地指导本体构建,创建了履带式本体构造模型来描述本体的构造方法。定义和描述了构成此模型的基本要素,包括本体（上层本体、领域本体和应用本体）和本体构造步骤（分析、设计、开发、部署和评估）,并在此基础上做出了定性分析,说明了顶级本体驱动开发方法、领域本体驱动开发方法和应用领域开发方法各自的特点。通过对此模型的分析和应用,以指导在本体开发中使用正确的开发方法。     

An exploratory study on ontology engineering for software architecture documentation

The usefulness of Software Architecture (SA) documentation depends on how well its Architectural Knowledge (AK) can be retrieved by the stakeholders in a software project. Recent findings show that the use of ontology-based SA documentation is promising. However, different roles in software development have different needs for AK, and building an ontology to suit these needs is challenging. In this paper we describe an approach to build an ontology for SA documentation. This approach involves the use of typical questions for eliciting and constructing an ontology. We outline eight contextual factors, which influence the successful construction of an ontology, especially in complex software projects with diverse AK users. We tested our ‘typical question’ approach in a case study and report how it can be used for acquiring and modeling AK needs.     

统一软件过程与地理信息系统的应用开发

地理信息系统是一个涉及多学科领域的、复杂而且投资昂贵的信息系统,构建一个性能良好、结构健壮、扩展容易而且维护容易的应用GIS,需要应用软件工程的方法,对应用系统构建过程进行组织和控制。作为结构化软件过程之后具有划时代意义的软件工程方法--来源于面向对象方法的统一软件过程,吸收和发展了面向对象方法中的精华,在现代软件工程实践中得到了日益普及的应用,因而也必然地对GIS系统应用的构建方法产生巨大的影响。就目前实际软件应用过程中影响最大的一种软件方法--统一软件过程,作初步的论述和探讨,并结合一个开发实例,说明其对地理信息系统的开发实践的实用价值。     

Modelling residual value risk through ontology to address vulnerability of PPP project system

For facilitating the management of Residual Value Risk (RVR) in Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, an ontology-based model is established to describe the generation process and complex relationships of RVR. An ontology-based approach is proposed to analyze the RVR in PPPs, which is a framework addressing the vulnerability and a knowledge-based modeling for RVR management. The RVR ontology model is composed of class of Project, Risk, and Vulnerability, as well as taxonomy of risk factors for risk sources (RS), risk events (RE), risk consequences (RC), exposure (V1), resilience (V2) and sensitivity (V3). Meanwhile, different relationships among taxonomies, classes and individuals are expressed in model. Moreover, the object properties for class project and the object properties of inherited/non-inherited relationships are defined. Meanwhile, project-based, risk-based, and vulnerability-based datatype property are further described. Then a real individual is established by using the ontology editing software Protégé. The proposed RVR ontology model can be used to visualize and manipulate various representations in RVR management as well as to implement the work of risk reasoning and analyzing. The proposed RVR ontology framework provides a useful framework to systematize different knowledge of RVRs in PPP projects, in which the related knowledge can be described clearly and effectively. Moreover, the proposed framework can enhance data process function and improve the analysis of RVR probability and vulnerability in PPP projects through sharedness and transferability of RVR knowledge provided by ontology-based RVR model for different stakeholders in PPP projects.     

科学数据中心间互操作模式研究

【目的】为了满足学科交叉融合对科学数据互操作的需求,解决科学数据中心资源重复存储问题,促进跨学科数据资源的有效利用。【方法】本文调研了现有的科学数据互操作技术与模式、国内外科学数据中心间互操作的现状,分析了各种互操作模式与技术适用的条件以及我国科学数据中心的特点。【结果】最终,提出了两大类共7种科学数据中心间互操作的模式,即基于元数据收割的转接板模式、基于元数据框架的元数据信息交换站模式、基于多领域本体映射的关联数据模式、元数据映射模式、本体模式、现有系统再整合模式和统一信息化系统模式,同时提供了我国科学数据中心互操作模式的实施建议。【结论】本研究提出的科学数据中心互操作模式具有可落地性和可实施性,能大大促进交叉学科科学数据资源的共享与利用,具有非常重要的推广意义和价值。