FOUNDATION FOR INTELLIGENT PHYSICAL AGENTS

 

 

                         Michael Berger                                    and Michael Watzke, Siemens AG

{           Michael.Berger mchp.siemens.de                    , Michael.Watzke}@mchp.siemens.de

 

 

Problem Statement: Ad-hoc networks, based on communication facilities like Infrared, Bluetooth and Wwireless LAN, as well as using technologies like Jini and UPnP, enables new applications in the area of local range networks. Mobile devices, such as mobile phones and Ppocket-PCs,, equipped with that technology, make the communication of two devices or the establishing of an ad-hoc group with more than two devices possible.

 

Once working in that ad-hoc and short-range area, probably a device has no wide-range connection (e.g. there is no coverage at the moment or a user does not want to establish such a connection because of the cost). In that context, the agents on two mobile devices, originally created on different platforms, have to discover each other and to build an ad-hoc compound[1][i] to allowing them each other to communicate with each other. A compound can be based on:

 

-          either two different complete agent platforms (one agent platform on each device) merging into one, or

-          two fragments[2] of different agent platforms, or

-          one fragment joining a different completeplatform and one fragment from a different platform.

 

These three cases are also applicable if there are more than two devices involved in building an ad-hoc compound. Compounds also have also to be robust enough to survive handle the migration (leaving) of devices. A further problem is, when having a device with no wide-range network connection, the application or user should also be able to generate and delete agents on that device. .

 

Current FIPA does not support say very much about such environments and functionalitiesfunctionality’sy’s.

 

Objective: There are three main objectives of this work-plan:

 

-          Definition of possible agent platform fragments, which can be connected form dynamically to a compound

-          Definition of mechanisms and protocols for agent platform fragments to build,  and release, join and leave compounds

-          Usagee of existing approaches in the ad-hoc and P2P world are which provide support on different levels

 

 

Technology: The approaches will be based on developments in the area of ad-hoc and short- range wireless networkstechnologies such as Bluetooth, IrDA, Wireless LAN, Jini, UPnP   and P2P.

 

 

Specifications generated: There will be either a new specification which will take all existing specifications into account, which define FIPA2000 compliance orthere will be changes to some or all the existing specifications listed below.

 

 

Plan for Work and Milestones: The plan is for a 162 month program of work and includes the following steps:

 

               2001/09Finish work plan, publish work plan

2001/10    Get acceptance from FAB, establish WG or give work to any existing WG/TC, open call for technical contributions (CFT)

               2002/01Deadline for technical contributions

               2002/01Presentation of technical contributions, structuring, discussion

               2002/07Deliver first draft of preliminary specification

               2002/10Review specification, second draft

               2003/01Review specification, third draft

               2003/04Making specification as experimental      2001/07Discuss work plan, finish work plan, open call for contributions

               2001/09Deadline for contributions

               2001/10Presentation and first discussion of contributions

               2002/01Discussion of contributions

               2002/02First draft of preliminary specification

               2002/04Review of preliminary specification

               2002/07Review of preliminary specification, define specification as experimental

 

Future Work:

 

Dependencies:

·[FIPA00001] FIPA Abstract Architecture Specification

·[FIPA00023]

·         FIPA Abstract Architecture Specification

·         FIPA Nomadic Application Support Specification

·         FIPA Agent Communication and Content Languages Specifications

·         FIPA Agent Security Management Specification

·         FIPA Agent Management and Configuration Specifications

·         FIPA Agent Message Transport Specifications

·                  Upcoming FIPA Minimal and Compliance Level Specification

 

Additional References:

·         Bluetooth

·         IrDA

·         Wireless LAN

·         Java Agent S (Java Agent Service standard comming out of Sun’s Java Community Process)ervices

·         Jini

·         UPpnP          

·         P2P

·          JadePNP([3]Steffen Rusitschka: Using Plug&Play technologies by agent systems, diploma thesis in German, Siemens AG and University of Marburg, Germany, January 2001)

 

Support:

·         Fabio Bellifeimine (TI Labs)

·         Bernhard Burg (HP Labs)

·         Patricia Charlton (Motorola)

·         Heimo Laamanen (Sonera)

·         Heikki Helin (Sonera)

·         Jamie Lawrence (Broadcom)

·         Stefan Poslad (Queen Mary, University London)

·         John Shepherdson (British Telecommunications)

·         Steven Willmott (EPFL)

 

FAB Comments:

This work plan has been approved and has been assigned to the Gateways Technical Committee.