Implementation of a distributed problem solving framework based on discrete event system specification

Distributed problem solving(DPS) is a field of distributed artificial intelligence. In a DPS system, a problem is solved by a team of cooperating intelligent agents, each intelligent agent having partial data and knowledge of the problem and the problem solving environment. A DPS system is a discrete event system. In the problem solving process, an intelligent agent randomly receives and processes messages from the outside and other intelligent agent; it also unpredictably activates knowledge sources in itself. This paper proposes a DPS framework based on DEVS formalism specifying discrete event systems. The framework consists of two components, AGENT and WHITEBOARD. The AGENT maintains several problem-solving plans. It is able to solve many problems concurrently. The WHITEBOARD keeps capability and loading factors of the AGENT and distributes messages during the solving process. For verifying the proposed framework, an example system with three intelligent agents was examined. The results show that the DPS framework concurrently solves problems, and each AGENT maintains an appropriate load.