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Designing an Axiomatisation Language for Autonomous Agents and Mobile Robots
Title
ALAN: Designing an axiomatisation language for autonomous agents and mobile robots
Principal investigator
Funding agency
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Project ID TH 541/8-1
Project abstract
The aim of this project is the development of a theoretically founded, high-level axiomatisation language for intelligent software agents and autonomous robots. The language ALAN is based on the theory of the Fluent Calculus, which we devised successfully during the last three years. In opposite to classical programming languages, where basic commands manipulate the internal state of the program only, the basic commands comprising a software agent or a program for robot navigation are actions which affect the external environment. Furthermore, autonomous agents and robots have to respond to specific situations in a flexible and intelligent way, such that the programmer only needs to provide a framework that allows for a certain range of freedom in response being autonomously determined according to the specific situation in an appropriate way. By that, programming becomes axiomatisation, i.e., describing the problem instead of developing a detailed plan of incremental problem solving. The objectives of the axiomatisation language ALAN (Axiomatisation Language for Agents), which is to be developed during this project, are as follows. First, it will provide a method for specifying the effects of basic actions on the agent's specific environment. Next, the language will allow for programs that are highly non-deterministic and only specify the framework mentioned above. Using this concept, a software agent or a robot has to be able to autonomously choose an option of execution of the non-deterministic program that is appropriate with respect to the given theory on the effects of its actions. This requires a comprehensive theory of automatic logical inference on actions, as the Fluent Calculus already represents in a limited way. The extension of this theory as well as its application forming a foundation concerning syntax, semantic and implementation of ALAN, is the objective of our project.
Start date
01.03.2002
Duration
48 months
Contact person
Further information
The FLUX-Agent website