Collaborative prototyping in distributed virtual reality using an agent communication language

We describe our work on multiagent systems in a distributed virtual reality environment. Our main goal in the LI2 laboratory is to make interactive and co-operative prototyping for well defined systems. Users and software agents evolving in our virtual worlds can interact, communicate and modify their behavior. The article focuses on the way our agents communicate in a "natural language" by exchanging information and knowledge. For this purpose we have developed a communication language based on "speech acts theory" and on agent communication languages (ACL). The Knowledge Query Manipulation Language (KQML) is the ACL we have chosen to develop high level communication among "intelligent agents". To validate our developments and thus the KQML specifications, we have tested them in a contract net application. Contract net applications use communication mechanisms based on offers, bids, contracts and so on, which can be designed by KQML message exchanges.