Reasoning about Rational Agents (Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents) (Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents series)

One goal of modern computer science is to engineer computer programs that can act as
autonomous, rational agents; software that can independently make good decisions about what actions
to perform on our behalf and execute those actions. Applications range from small programs that
intelligently search the Web buying and selling goods via electronic commerce, to autonomous space
probes. This book focuses on the belief-desire-intention (BDI) model of rational agents, which
recognizes the primacy of beliefs, desires, and intentions in rational action. The BDI model has
three distinct strengths: an underlying philosophy based on practical reasoning in humans, a
software architecture that is implementable in real systems, and a family of logics that support a
formal theory of rational agency.The book introduces a BDI logic called LORA (Logic of Rational
Agents). In addition to the BDI component, LORA contains a temporal component, which allows one to
represent the dynamics of how agents and their environments change over time, and an action
component, which allows one to represent the actions that agents perform and the effects of the
actions. The book shows how LORA can be used to capture many components of a theory of rational
agency, including such notions as communication and cooperation.