Distributed intelligent control and management: concepts, methods and tools for developing DICAM applications

The authors are developing a generic control architecture suitable for use as a single intelligent agent or as multiple cooperating agents. The generic architecture combines a task-oriented domain controller with a meta-controller that schedules activities within the domain controller. The domain controller provides functions for model-based situation assessment and planning, and inter-controller communication. Typically, these functions are performed by modules taken from a repository of reusable software. To improve the controller development process, the authors are combining many of the best ideas from software engineering and knowledge engineering in a software environment. This environment includes a blackboard-like development workspace to represent both the software under development and the software development process itself.<>