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Event detection.
Detecting an event fundamentally relies on comparing the agent's sensor stream-that is, the information coming from its sensors (possibly after being processed by other software, in the case of software agents)-with what the agent believes about the world, other agents, and the likely results of its own actions. Messages from others can also serve as a source of information to use in event detection; for example, another AUV might tell an agent ``You have run aground.''

The knowledge necessary for event detection includes a good model of the environment around the agent, so that differences between what the sensors report and what the agent believes can be meaningful. An agent also needs to know the organization of the group of which it is a part, including its own and others' responsibilities and commitments to actions (i.e., their intentions [e.g.,]pgp,georgeff:ingrand:88). This allows it to predict the likely impact of features of the environment (or itself, or others) that it detects on its and others' actions and plans. For event notification messages, the agent needs to know how reliable the other agent is, not only with respect to the sender's processing and sensor abilities, but also its beliefs and knowledge about the agent and the group. The agent also needs to maintain a history of past sensor information, beliefs, and so forth, so that trends and intermittent events can be detected (e.g., power slowly failing).


rmt@cdps.umcs.maine.edu
Wed May 4 11:21:48 EDT 1994