Multi-level engineering methods for multi-agent systems

The research activity aims to define multi-level software engineering methods for the design, implementation, and analysis of multi-agent systems (MAS), in which the behaviour of individual agents (micro level) must predictably realise collective goals and properties (macro level). The research will focus on a methodology that organises the analysis, design, and execution phases across multiple levels of abstraction (macro, meso, micro), and on a catalogue of interaction patterns covering both macro-to-micro mappings (from collective goals to individual behaviours) and micro-to-macro mappings (from the aggregation of agents’ state to global properties). The starting point will be agent-oriented software engineering methodologies and the agent-oriented programming paradigm, extended with macro-level abstractions such as global goals and states, norms, and group structures.