Agent-based Complex Systems
Agent-Based Research
Several characteristics distinguish today's complex systems from traditional ones. These characteristics impact how systems are modeled and engineered. We are on the edge of a revolutionary paradigm shift, pioneered by the multi-agent systems community, which is likely to change our core attitudes toward systems modeling and engineering.
Traditional multi-agent research, an extension of artificial intelligence, seeks to embed human-level intelligence in each agent. For over 20 years -- inspired by biological systems, artificial life, complexity science, and techniques from statistical physics -- NewVectors staff have been devising architectures in which useful intelligence emerges at the system level from interactions of fine-grained agents. We are leaders in applying these advanced architectures to a broad range of problems in military, industrial, and business applications.
The characteristics of the systems we work with are summarized mnemonically as D4: Diverse, Distributed, Decentralized, and Dynamic:
Diverse
Diverse systems are composed of a number of forms of diversity, such as a diversity of physical platforms, software entities, functions, interactions, and kinds of information.
Distributed
Increasingly large numbers of small-networked devices are being connected through wireless networks. These systems are distributed over broad areas, and the connections may be limited in range and bandwidth, intermittent, or ad hoc.
Decentralized
Centralized control schemes are no longer viable to manage such a large, diverse, distributed population of computing entities. Algorithms must be completely distributed and robust against intermittent or ad hoc connections. Local autonomy reduces the needs for centralized command and control and eliminates choke points, which inhibit rapid decision-making and serve as attractive targets for the hacker or the enemy.
Dynamic
The environment for these systems is uncertain and rapidly changing. The number of entities and their types may constantly change. Enemy forces are constantly attempting to thwart the actions and modify the environment in unpredictable ways. Delayed, imperfect, or false information forces the units to be robust and adaptive.
Business Process Interoperability
NewVectors has a long history of involvement in the development and testing of IT standards. For over 20 years, our staff have worked on communication and data representation standards for today’s integrated enterprise. We took responsibility for developing a full conformance and interoperability testing capability for several standards including STEP (ISO 10303) - the international standards for the exchange of product models. NewVectors is currently managing a government/industry consortium to accelerate conformance to section 508 of the Americans With Disabilities Act. We developed and provide tools to federal procurement agents to help them assess section 508 requirements for IT systems.
In the future, NewVectors will provide advanced modeling tools to support the development of enterprise processes and IT systems that conform to Enterprise Architecture reference models and to support interoperability assessment.
Robots Unleashed! Click here to see photos from EMG's robot test.