Extensions of partial structures and their application to modelling of multiagent systems

Abstract

Various formal approaches to modelling of multiagent systems were used, e.g., logics of knowledge and various kinds of modal logics [4]. We discuss an approach to multiagent systems based on assumption that the agents possess only partial information about global states, see [6]. We make a general assumption that agents perceive the world by fragmentary observations only [8, 4]. We propose to use partial structures for agent modelling and we present some consequences of such an algebraic approach. Such partial structures are incrementally enriched by new information. These enriched structures are represented by extensions of the given partial model. The extension of partial structure is a basic notion of this paper. It makes it possible for a given agent to model hypotheses about extensions of the observable world. An agent can express the properties of the states by properties of the partial structure he has at his disposal. We assume that every agent knows the signature of the language that we use for modelling agents.© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.