Towards a Component-Based Development Framework for Agents

Developing agent-oriented systems is still a difficult task. However, a component-based approach can help by supporting both modular modification of existing systems and construction of new systems from existing parts. In this paper we develop a foundation (conceptual model) for a component-based agent development framework by extending the concepts of the SMART framework. We apply our definitions to an existing agent application in order to both refine the definitions, and to evaluate the extent to which the model is able to support modification of existing systems.