The conceptual modelling of dynamic teams for autonomous systems

Abstract

The concept of a ‘team’ is key in multi-agent decision-making applications such as for combat operations and disaster management. Although there are a number of team-oriented agent programming approaches, conceptual modelling of teams is not fully addressed. In this paper we present TDF-T, an extension of the TDF agent design methodology that addresses the requirements of team oriented modelling; in particular, team hierarchies, dynamic team formation, and team coordination. These concepts encapsulate team tactical behaviour which is essential to our user community who need to build and deploy complex team-based simulation applications. We show positive results in a user study that evaluates comprehension and maintainability of TDF-T models.