A metrics suite for the communication of multi-agent systems
ISSN: 1888-0258
Year of publication: 2009
Issue Title: Special Session on Practical Applications of Agents and Multiagent Systems
Volume: 3
Issue: 2
Pages: 7-14
Type: Article
More publications in: JoPha: Journal of Physical Agents
Abstract
Multi-agent systems are composed of autonomous entities that cooperate forming emergent behaviors. The communication between agents is sometimes unpredictable, and the resulting communication patterns can become crucial in their performance. This paper presents a metrics suite for evaluating the communication of the multi-agent systems. These metrics assist designers in detecting undesirable communication patterns in multi-agent systems, in order to improve their cooperative behavior. At the same time, we provide a demonstration that a well balanced communication is related to high levels of Quality of Service measured by response times.