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Assessing the scope of the event.
When an agent decides that no other agents are likely to have noticed an event, then it has de facto responsibility for it. Part of this responsibility entails deciding whether or not to notify others and/or to get help. This relies on an assessment of the scope of the event: Does the event impact only me, or does it impact others in the group (or the group as a whole)?

If the agent determines that the event impacts only itself, then it can proceed with handling it. If it decides that the event affects no one, then it can terminate processing the event. (For example, if an agent notices a rockslide, but neither it nor any other agent is predicted to go near the rubble, then it may be safe to ignore the event.) If the event is predicted to impact others, then the agent must decide who is best able to handle the event.

The knowledge necessary to support assessment of an event's scope again relies on environmental knowledge as well as a model of the group's organization and models of others' actions, plans, and beliefs.

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