Stigmergic reasoning over hierarchical task networks

Stigmergy is usually associated with semantically simple problems such as routing. It can be applied to more complex problems by encoding them in the environment through which stigmergic agents interact. We demonstrate this approach by showing how stigmergic agents can plan over a hierarchical task network, specifically a resource-oriented dialect of the TÆMS language. We not only report our successful method, but also analyze a number of unsuccessful attempts. Our results reveal an important distinction among HTN’s. Categories and Subject Descriptors I.2.11 [Distributed Artificial Intelligence]: Multiagent systems; I.2.8 [Problem Solving, Control Methods, and Search]: Plan execution, formation, and generation; Scheduling. General Terms Algorithms, Experimentation. Keywords Stigmergy, TÆMS, Planning, Scheduling, Biology, Agents, Interaction

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: ATAL
• Authors: H. Van Dyke Parunak, Theodore C. Belding, Robert Bisson, Sven A. Brueckner, Elizabeth Downs, Rainer Hilscher
• Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, ATAL 2009, Distributed Artificial Intelligence, Hierarchical Task Network, Stigmergic Agents