Scalable Perception for BDI-Agents Embodied in Virtual Environments

Virtual characters in (serious) games are increasingly required to perform complex tasks in dynamic virtual environments. The use of BDI-agents seems a good fit to realize the intelligent behavior for virtual characters. However, although perception is part of the BDI model, it is not really geared towards real time virtual environments. In this paper we present a framework for perceptual attention for BDI-agents embodied in a virtual environment in the scope of a middleware for connecting a multi-agent system and a game engine. Attention for agents is controlled using an underlying subscription mechanism for sensing the environment. Evaluations are provided based on an implemention of the framework.