Validation of BDI MASs via Simulation

Several development methodologies (and abstractions) are available to simplify development of real-time and autonomous software systems. A widely adopted approach is MAS engineering for which several abstractions were proposed over the years; one example is the BDI programming model for cognitive agents, well-recognized to manage the agents’ behaviour and interaction. For these systems, unit testing is not enough to appreciate the emerging behaviour obtained from a configuration, therefore, simulation could represent a step forward to guarantee the correctness of the design. However, the literature shows two diverging directions: the first one focuses on the simulation, leaving agents abstractions simpler than the complete BDI notation, while the second mostly focuses on full-fledged BDI frameworks. What is currently missing is an integration between simulation, as a foundational development validation tool, and BDI systems, allowing engineers define a MAS and then, using the same configuration, simulate it, or vice versa.