An organisation infrastructure for Multi-Agent Systems based on Agent Coordination Contexts

ABSTRACT

We present an organisation infrastructure for open Multi-Agent Systems built upon a role-based access control model (RBAC), which provides agents with means to enable and control actions toward the other entities in the MAS (agents and resources).In particular, an Agent Coordination Context (ACC) is created and assigned to an agent as it enters the MAS, which acts as a sort of private interface for the agent towards the environment: any agent action is thereafter enabled and controlled by that ACC, which prevents those behaviours that are incorrect with respect to the role(s) played by the agent. To this end, each role is assigned a policy that flexibly specifies possible/allowed actions and perceptions over time.

REFERENCES

• 1: David F. Ferraiolo , Ravi Sandhu , Serban Gavrila , D. Richard Kuhn , Ramaswamy Chandramouli, Proposed NIST standard for role-based access control, ACM Transactions on Information and System Security (TISSEC), v.4 n.3, p.224-274, August 2001 [doi>10.1145/501978.501980]
• 2: A. Omicini. Towards a notion of agent coordination context. In Process Coordination and Ubiquitous Computing, pages 187--200. CRC Press, 2002.
• 3: A. Omicini, A. Ricci, and M. Viroli. Formal specification and enactment of security policies through Agent Coordination Contexts. In Proceedings of SecCo, volume 85(3) of ENTCS. Elsevier Science B. V., 2003.
• 4: A. Ricci, M. Viroli, and A. Omicini. Agent coordination context: From theory to practice. In Cybernetics and Systems 2004, volume 2, pages 618--623. Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies, 2004.
• 5: Ravi S. Sandhu , Edward J. Coyne , Hal L. Feinstein , Charles E. Youman, Role-Based Access Control Models, Computer, v.29 n.2, p.38-47, February 1996 [doi>10.1109/2.485845]

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
        D.2.10 Design**

Additional Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.2 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
        I.2.11 Distributed Artificial Intelligence

General Terms:
Design, Languages

Keywords:
agent coordination, agent infrastructures, role-based access control