System engineering view on multi-agent technology for industrial applications: barriers and prospects
Vladimir Gorodetsky, Petr Skobelev, Vladimír Mařík
For over a quarter of a century, multi-agent systems have been considered as one of the most promising technologies for conceptualization, software development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions. Not so widely but multi-agent technology is also considered as a way of designing complex adaptive systems based on bio-inspired principles of selforganization and evolution. However, in practice, the industry rarely uses multi-agent technology, despite the appearance of new classes of applications for which it is the perfect match, for example, smart cyber-physical systems with digital twins of controlled objects. The paper analyzes the recent anticipations and real achievements in the practical use of multi-agent systems at the industry level. It also identifies the engineering problems that currently impede the extensive industrial implementation of multi-agent systems and technologies as well as the ways to overcome them. Finally, prospects for development of these technologies are evaluated up to the level of industrial implementation.
CYBERNETICS AND PHYSICS, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2020, 13-30, https://doi.org/10.35470/2226-4116-2020-9-1-13-30