A three-dimensional abstraction framework to compare multi-agent system models

Abstract

Models of agents or multiagent systems in a certain application area can be made at different levels of abstraction. The aim of this paper is to clarify different dimensions of abstraction. The three dimensions of considered are: the process abstraction dimension, the temporal dimension, and the agent cluster dimension. Thus a three-dimensional framework is obtained in which different types of multi-agent system models can be classified. For a number of multiagent system models in different application areas from the literature it is discussed how they fit in the framework.