All-in-One Framework for Design, Simulation, and Practical Implementation of Distributed Multiagent Control Systems

The technology of multiagent system (MAS) has been developed rapidly to fulfill the information interconnection nowadays. Meanwhile, implementing MAS-based projects is facing great challenges in workload and technologies while most work is still focused on simulation, implying the gap between the simulation and implementation. Aiming at this problem, this article proposes an all-in-one framework for the design, simulation, and implementation of MASs via network, based on a triple-layer data structure that includes overall topology, entity, and physical device. Through the proposed framework, MASs could be designed together with graphic, then corresponding simulation and multitask codes generation could be attained based on the designed model. A simultaneous multiapplication launching for distributed entities could be completed with instant automatic deployment eventually. The entire process provides a unified scheme for construction, verification, and practice of various MAS projects. Using such scheme, users could prototype and deploy MASs quickly with convenient operation, which allows more time and focus to be dedicated to the design and exploration of the control system itself. The practicability of the proposed framework has been verified by typical cases, based on which a more general solution could be improved and applied in the future.