An agent-based approach to preliminary ship design

In this paper, the basic architecture of an agent is proposed and a federated agent system based on the basic architecture is implemented. The basic architecture consists of a knowledge query and manipulation language (KQML) handler, a knowledge interchange format (KIF) interpreter, and design flow control codes. The KQML handler is a module for managing KQML performatives received from an agent. The KIF interpreter provides the support services of content-based routing, translation using a matching scheme, and simple inference. A Java template package was used for communication between agents. A federated agent system was then applied to a preliminary ship design to show the handling process of the agent system and its applicability in a distributed design environment. Received: June 5, 2000 / Accepted: September 20, 2000